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creativeashproductions · 4 years ago

Text

Banjo Riff // Platonic!Reggie Peters

IN WHICH: Luke rejects Reggie’s ideas for country music one too many times leading to the friendship fracturing and putting the bands future in question. Luke, with the help of his girlfriend the reader and his friends scramble to make it up to the bassist.

Warnings: Swearing, hurt!Reggie, Luke being an ass, fighting, angst, and fluff

Words: 3.2k

A/N: This idea has been sitting in my notes for MONTHS now. Song referenced is Lay Here With Me by Maddie & Tae (featuring Dierks Bentley)

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Masterlist

If there was one thing Sunset Curve, then later Julie and the Phantoms would rely on, it was the battle between Luke and Reggie. Since the conception of a band between the friends, Reggie had always wanted to play a country song. He had learned how to play the banjo in preparation, but Luke rejected both the idea and songs as always.

"You said our sound was vintage '80s and '90s rock music Luke. The band evolved into a pop-rock sound-"

"Because our band changed from Sunset Curve to Julie and the Phantoms. I love you, man, but there's no way we're going country." Luke finally snapped with a heated glare on his face. Luke didn't mean to snap so severely, but it happened.

Luke watched as Reggie's face completely dropped into the kicked puppy expression that tore everyone apart. Instead of making light of the conversation, Reggie mutely nodded in response before turning to grab his bass for the band practice. Luke's stomach dropped at the rather odd behaviour, but Luke blamed his response on his current writers' block.

"Let's start with Flying Solo." Luke proclaimed, hoping Reggie's favourite song would cheer him up. Alex's curious gaze bounced between the two other males in the band just as Julie wandered into the garage.

Before Julie could even question the tension, Reggie had started the beat on the pad stationed on the keyboard. The young female immediately jumped into the first rehearsal song with ease. Every attempt Julie was about to question Reggie's uncharacteristic quiet, the bassist started a different song.

"What's his problem?" Julie questioned as Reggie packed up his stuff and practically sprinted out of the studio. He'd rejected the offer of a pizza movie night.

"Luke here decided to be an asshole again." Alex's tone of voice was sugary sweet in comparison to the glare he sent his guitarist.

Luke flinched at the furious expression on his bandmate's face. It wasn't a secret Julie and Reggie gravitated to each other in sibling bond. The two had been friends since infancy through their parents; Julie was there when the Peters started fighting. Reggie was there when Julie's mom passed away.

"Don't kill me!" Luke pleaded, scrambling around the piano from the intimidating Puerto Rican who had a solid punch. Julie's anger faltered at the guilt on the boy's face, "I was frustrated, and I shouldn't have taken it out on him!"

"What did Reggie do to deserve it?" Julie asked from the other side of the piano, acting as a barrier between the teenagers.

"He asked about the band doing a country song," Luke admitted with a grimace. His hazel eyes dimmed once more.

"What is your issue with country music? Your girlfriend is literally a country singer Luke!" Alex cried, stepping in between the two feuding bandmates.

Rock n' Roll Luke Patterson had been dating a well-known country singer for close to two years now. Luke had always been adamant that country wasn't all it was cracked up to be, but if you looked in the false bottom of the console in his car, you'd see a different story. Beneath the Eagles, Nirvana, AC/DC, and Gun N' Roses CDs, you'd find countless CDs of his girlfriend. He even had a playlist with a name that concealed the music in it.

Luke was a secret country fan, but he'd take that to his grave before he let anyone other than you know that.

"I don't have an issue! I don't think our band would benefit from branching into that music genre!" Luke argued with his bare arms crossing over his chest. Both Julie and Alex were about to respond when the studio gained another inhabitant.

"Would anyone like to explain why Reggie stormed into my house holding his songbook? He literally dropped it in my garage and tried to light it on fire?" You asked from the double doors with said book in your hand.

All three out of four members of Julie and the Phantoms recognized the book with a country landscape. The sight caused all their stomachs to drop at the obvious symbol of Reggie's hurt feelings.

"Funny story-"

"Luke Patterson...did you hurt his feelings about his love of country?" You asked through clenched teeth. Your response was Luke wincing at the anger blistering in your tone, "Did you ever think that country music is his comfort music? Fix this, Luke. Reggie, of all people, doesn't deserve your frustration."

You turned on your heel with Julie following in the attempt to find the forlorn bassist, most likely being hard on himself. You checked the beach house Reggie's dad had gotten in the divorce to no success. The school auditorium was empty, and so was the stable where Reggie worked part-time for the horses. You had returned back to Julie's house to sit on the porch to brainstorm.

"Isn't this the week he's with his mom?" Julie questioned with a furrowed brow. You could only shrug as Julie pulled up the calendar she shared with Flynn.

Reggie's parents had somewhat amicably divorced two years ago after attempts of reconciliation through therapy. Reggie had sat down with them to tell them how he felt with them fighting, if you recalled. They decided to do a trial separation for a few months and, in the end, had mutually agreed to divorce.

"I think Mr. Peters is taking care of his mother in a different state. She broke her hip, and now she's being moved into a retirement home." You offered the girl the encapsulated sunshine in just her smile.

"I suppose we'll try the Carter-Peters home." Julie breathed, bouncing on her feet to your car parked in front of her house. Julie's fingers tapped the screen in a chat thread she hadn't touched for months.

Your keen eyes easily read Carrie Wilson's name at the top of the thread that had been dormant since the end of their friendship. Apparently, Julie received little help in the frustrated sigh she released and the increasingly violent tapping of her screen.

"As usual, Carrie is no help," Julie announced with disgust in her voice. She squeezed the hand you placed on her knee before your hand returned to the wheel.

"One day, you'll have to tell me what happened between the two of you."

"Old news. Happened just before you moved back from Nashville." Julie once more avoided talking about the issues.

It was the same response every time you questioned the friendship that had fractured in the few years you'd been in Nashville. Before you left, Carrie and Julie had been attached at the hip, and when you came back, they were at each other's throats. Well, mostly Carrie was because Julie had too big of a heart to stand up to her former friend.

"Well, the beat-up van is still there." Julie caught the van, more of an eyesore, to be honest, sitting in the three-car driveway. The van was shared between Reggie and Flynn as a joint gift from their parents when Reggie's mom moved in with Flynn and her father.

"We both know Reggie-"

"Would walk to work through his problems. The number of times I've found in walking downtown…" Julie trailed with a shake of her half up half down hairstyle she left uncovered by a hat. Another symbol of her finding herself outside the grief that had concealed her.

"Oh, thank god." Flynn moaned from the front porch with her headphones resting on her shoulders instead of her ears, "He's been playing his old bass that makes that odd high pitch squeak noise. I couldn't take it. Get him out!"

You opened and closed your mouth with the inability to find the words, but Flynn knew already, "Doors unlocked. He's in his room."

"Thanks." You informed the fashionable teenager before brushing passed into the house. Not much had changed since Reggie had moved part-time into the house; his parents shared custody.

Flynn was right; the sound of that screech was like a bread trail to the last bedroom in the hallway to the left. The door opened a smidge to reveal Reggie sitting in the dim room with just his bedside lamp on. He was lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

"Hey, Reggie." You breathed from leaning against the door jam, "I'm not sure what Luke said but don't give up on writing. Your songs mean something, Reginald."

"Then why doesn't Luke even read my lyrics? He barely read the title of my last one before tossing it aside!" Reggie whined before taking on a caricature of Luke's voice, "'Home is Where my Horse Is'? Reggie, stop putting your songs in my book!"

You couldn't help the snort at his interpretation of Luke, "That's a...uh...an accurate voice?"

Reggie didn't even crack a smile.

"Okay, maybe don't push Luke's buttons but imagine turning this hurt into songs!"

"Okay. Can I be left alone?"

"Sure." You sighed, turning to leave the room again, "But first. Don't get rid of this Reg. You have good songs."

You left Reggie's songbook on the dresser by his door on your way through the Carter-Peters household. Flynn sighed in relief when Reggie didn't continue using his old bass and even waved as you and Julie pulled away from the curb.

Reggie's eyes had stayed on the songbook you left on his second-hand dresser as if it would get up and bite him. All he could see was Luke rolling his eyes when Reggie had opened the book to show him a new song he'd written. Reggie was tired of only being known for playing bass.

"I brought you some leftover pizza." Reggie wasn't aware he'd been staring at the songbook for hours by then. He was only aware of Luke when he offered a peace offering in the form of Reggie's favourite food.

"I-"

"I'll go grab a soda from the fridge." Luke retreated just as quick as he had entered the bedroom. Seeing Luke was like rubbing salt in the open wound, and once more, Reggie's emotions flared.

Reggie was already at the fire pit in the backyard when Luke had argued with Flynn overtaking one of her sodas. The soda that had dropped on the back porch as Luke saw Reggie's fingers about to drop the songbook in the crackling fire.

"Reggie!" Luke shouted, ignoring the cold spray of soda on his bare arms. The hazel-eyed guitarist shoved Reggie away from the fire.

"What the hell, dude?" Reggie groaned, rolling onto his stomach to push himself to his sit on his knees. His blue eyes seeing Luke stomping the ignited corner of the songbook that had caused them issues.

"What the hell were you doing, Reggie?" Luke demanded with the songbook held tight in his grip. The glare on the messy-haired teenager directly pinned on his best friend, "Why would you try to destroy the book?"

"What's the point of having something our band won't branch into?" Reggie shrugged, moving to sit with his knees pulled to chest, "I've tried to keep the peace but Luke. I'm starting to understand why Bobby left the band."

Luke's heart clenched at the honesty Reggie was revealing, "What do you mean?"

"Screw the blood pact." Reggie grumbled, recalling the oath Alex, Bobby, and he had done to keep the truth from Luke, "Bobby didn't leave because he got an early acceptance into Juilliard."

Luke's eyebrows furrowed together, "What?"

"Luke...you tend to get possessive over the music we make. You brushed off Bobby's opinions, and we all didn't want to hurt your feelings. You've had a shitty time with your parents, but like Bobby, I feel like you don't appreciate our talents."

"What? Dude, you're killer on the bass! Alex's insane on the drums!"

"We know that. Maybe Bobby should have told you the truth on why he was leaving. I don't think you noticed but

"Luke. The songs we perform are all written by you. It was fine, but then when Julie joined, all of a sudden, you were okay with someone else writing with you. But you've never even looked at the songs I've written."

Luke silently listened as Reggie rambled on about how he, along with Bobby, felt underappreciated by the guitarist.

"And now you've been bit by the writers' block bug, but I think the band should take a break. Get our heads back on straight. Before we destroy the band, destroy our friendships." Reggie told his best friend with tears rolling down his face, "Just a week or two."

Luke's mouth hung open as Reggie circled around him to enter the household, but the telltale sound of the lock engaging broke the teenager. But Luke wasn't one to give up, so he created a group chat with Alex, Julie, Flynn and you. A single text that had all of them meeting at the studio.

"He quit the band?" Alex demanded, taking the songbook from Luke's hand, "What the hell?"

"One second he's in his room, and the next he's about to burn that! I may not like-"

"Luke, have you even read a single song he wrote?" You asked your boyfriend with your arms resting down on your knees. The boy in question half-heartedly shrugged with his eyes on his battered shoes.

"How are we gonna fix this?" Julie asked with a frown marring her pretty face usually lit up with sunshine. Her question was left to waft in the forlorn atmosphere in her family's studio.

"Give me that." You demanded towards the band's drummer with determination lit up in your eyes. Alex hesitantly handed over the songbook to your grabby hands.

The other individuals in the room watched as you settled into a chair with a stray acoustic guitar you'd left. Your eyes focused on the notes Reggie had placed around one of the unfinished songs. The soft melody was played a few times before you noticed Alex creating a beat with his drums.

"If I just tweak the song to make this piece the verse instead of a chorus." You mumbled under your breath with a pen scratching the paper. In a different colour, you jotted down the lyrics of a song you'd been working on previously. It was a song you'd struggled with the ending.

Alex huddled around you to add his own notes for the drums, "Definitely a song with a soft backing beat."

"Perfect. I just joined what he has with a song I'd given up a while back. The two songs are the last two pieces of a puzzle." You informed the drummer. Both of you unaware as Julie, Luke, and Flynn watched your brainstorming.

Luke felt out of sorts not being included in writing a song, but he thought it was suitable to not work on it. It gave Luke insight into how Reggie felt not being included in songwriting.

"I have an idea." Luke interjected with a grin, "Reggie's always wanted to see a real ranch. Do you think your uncle would be okay with us staying at the ranch?"

Your eyes flitted up to the mischievous hazel of your boyfriend's scheming gaze, "My uncle adores having people on the ranch. He'd enjoy teaching Reggie the ways of ranch life out of a city."

"How are you gonna get Reggie out to Nashville without it being band business?" Flynn questioned from her position on the couch, "He did just ask for a break from the band."

"Uh...I could pretend to enter a music competition." You offered hesitantly as you'd never actually performed on a stage for the group. You'd kept your personal life separate from your successful career as a country musician.

So you conspired with your friends to make amends with the bassist.

One Month Later, Nashville

The beat-up van pulled into a parking spot in front of a building. The band had seen the building in pictures on your Instagram. Alex, Luke and Julie all shared a look Reggie couldn't catch with his mouth wide open at the city.

"So, where's this competition?" Reggie inquired with his steps in line with Julie. The distance between Reggie and Luke is still noticeable.

True to Reggie's word, the band had come back together after two weeks of a break, but the bassist and guitarist's friendship was still fractured. A particular cloud of awkwardness followed each attempt; Luke tried to branch it together.

"Uh, not here. Y/N invited me to tour the recording studio she uses through her label." Luke offered to the confused bassist. As usual, Reggie barely cast a glance at the guitarist.

"C'mon!" Alex called out from the open doorway with the new addition of you by his side.

Luke was quick to nearly tackle you in a hug and a lingering kiss on your lips. The band all made sounds of feigned disgust. Even Reggie joined in the usual banter within the group.

"Hey, Reggie, do you want to see how us country artists do it?" You quipped with your arm interlocking with his. The cold leather of his jacket raising goosebumps on your arm as you dragged him to the recording booth.

As soon as he was comfortable on one of the spinney chairs by the producer's side, he watched like a hawk. The band had never been in a real professional recording studio owned by a label. It was interesting to everyone, but mostly they all watched Reggie's reactions.

"I was working on this song." You spoke from inside the booth. With a nod, your producer began playing a portion of the song.

"Is...is that-" Reggie was cut off by as Luke interrupted him.

"Your song? Yeah."

Reggie stared at his best friend, "What?"

"You were right, Reggie. I didn't appreciate what you could bring to the band, and I'm so fucking sorry about that. You have excellent songs even if I'm not a fan of country music." Luke genuinely informed his best friend with his hands clasping his, "I want you. Both you and Alex to have a bigger role because we started this band together. We all share responsibility."

"So for now. Alex and I finished one of the songs you had written. I was wondering if you'd like to make it a duet? Release it as a single with a full writing credit."

Reggie absolutely beamed in response to your question. He was in the recording booth beside you in mere seconds.

For the week the band stayed on your uncle's ranch, Reggie was in the studio with you going over the song. It is a song you released as the leading single for your upcoming studio album with Reggie and cemented his career. It wasn't the last time you did a song with Reggie. In fact, he set himself up as a sought after country songwriter.

"Holy shit!" Luke shouted as soon as Reggie told him the success of one of the songs had brought interest to Julie and the Phantoms, "I could kiss you! I'll never doubt your skills!"

Reggie and Luke's fractured friendship healed with the promise of a yearly visit to the ranch in Nashville. Plus, Reggie impressed Luke and Alex with the banjo riff in a country song the band released on their third studio album featured by you. Reggie would always be thankful he had the chance to record ‘Lay Here With Me’ with you.

Tag List (PLEASE SEND AN INBOX TO BE ADDED! I CANNOT GUARANTEE YOU WILL BE ON THE LIST VIA POST COMMENTS!)

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#reggie peters #reggie peters imagines #julie and the phantoms imagines #luke patterson imagines #luke patterson x reader #platonic!reggie peters #platonic!reggie peters x reader #julie and the phantoms #reginald peters #musician!reader x luke patterson #alive!luke patterson #alive!reggie peters

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waitimcomingtoo · 5 years ago

Note

Would you please write about Harrison and reader playing against each other in those bestfriend vs girlfriend quiz? Thank you! ❤️

Best Friend Vs. Girlfriend

Pairing: Tom Holland x Reader x Harrison

Synopsis: you make a Best Friend Vs. Girlfriend challenge for your YouTube channel with Tom and Harrison

Masterlist

Requests are CLOSED

“Welcome back to my channel.” You waved at the camera with two hands as Tom and Harrison fidgeted and fixed their hair on either side of you.

“Hi.” Harrison said in a nasally voice.

“How are ya?” Tom mimicked his voice as they both made a circle with their hands. You realized they were imitating Jeffree Star and you let out a loud groan.

“This was a mistake.” You laughed at their antics right before Tom and Harrison kissed you on either cheek. You cut the video there and let your intro play.

“Hi everyone! My name is Y/n L/n and today I’m joined by…” You gestured time Harrison, who looked deep in thought.

“Shouldn’t it be joined with? Like I’m joined with Harrison and Tom?” Harrison turned to you and asked. You made a face at him, asking why he decided to ask that in the middle of filming a YouTube video.

“No, it’s joined by because if you think about it-“ Tom started to give his opinion on the matter.

“AND JOINING ME TODAY,” you yelled above their bickering, “is Harrison Osterfield and my boyfriend, Tom Holland.”

“I think ‘my boyfriend Tom Holland’ should go first, personally.” Tom interjected, and you suddenly felt like a mother with her two troublesome kids.

“Tell you what, when I kill you both for making me upload a day late, you can go first? Sound good, Tom?” You asked sarcastically with a fake smile. Tom giggled at your threat and leaned into your side, making you laugh as well.

“God, when she threatens to kill you. Heart eyes.” Harrison said with sarcastic fawning.

“ANYWAYS”, you shot him a look that told him to zip it, “today, we’re going to be doing the best friend versus girlfriend challenge.”

“Because I’m Toms girlfriend.” Harrison nodded along. “Wait, you have to delete that, Y/n. The world doesn’t know yet.” He pretended to be panicked.

“They’re not ready to know.” Tom shot Harrison a fake flirty wink.

“Will you two behave? I don’t want to get demonetized for graphic content when this video shows me murdering the two of you while that guitar riff youtubers always use plays in the background.” You threatened again.

“That sounds like great content though.” Tom laughed and elbowed you while you gave the camera a death glare.

“Guys, give this video a thumbs up if you want Y/n to kill us on camera.” Harrison said to the camera with two thumbs up.

“Can we get started?” You asked them. “Please?”

“Yes, darling. I’m sorry.” Tom said sincerely as he gave your cheek a quick kiss. “What’s the first question?”

“I know what the first question is.” Harrison piped up. “Shouldn’t Tom be in the middle since we’re competing?”

“Haz, thats-“ ,you were about to scold him for interrupting again when you realized he was right, “a good idea. Tommy, switch with me.”

Tom got up and slid into your chair as you got into his.

“First question.” Tom smiled brightly at the camera once he was settled in his seat. “What is my middle name?”

“Stanley.” Haz blurted before you could say a word. “I get a point.” He looked at you with a boastful smile.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t get used to it.” You waved off his win.

“Have I ever stolen anything?” Tom read the next question off his phone.

“No.” Harrison answered quickly.

“I don’t think I have.” Tom nodded. “Haz gets a point.”

“I was gonna say you stole my heart.” You twirled your hair around your finger and Harrison gave you a nasty look for playing dirty.

“Awww.” Tom gushed and smiled fondly at you. “Sorry Haz. Y/n gets a point.”

You stuck your tongue out at Harrison behind Toms back, who promptly gave you the finger.

“Next one.” Tom cleared his throat. “What is RDJ’s name in my phone?”

“Oh.” You jumped, feeling the answer on the tip of your tongue. “Isn’t is ‘Daddy’ or something?”

“Daddy?” Tom gasped and turned his entire body to look at you. “You think I have Robert Downey Junior in my phone as Daddy?”

“Yes?” Your voice came out as more of a question.

“It’s The Godfather.” Harrison practically screamed. “I’m winning.”

“For now.” You assured him. “Ask the next question, Tom.”

“What did I brush my teeth with that one time instead of toothpaste?” Tom asked.

“Oh, I know this!” You clapped your hands. “Hair gel. You brushed it with hair gel.”

“That’s right! Good job, baby.” Tom kissed your lips quickly before returning to his questions.

“So I don’t get kisses for right answers but she does?” Harrison joked, making you and Tom exchange a look.

“What was the name of the ballet studio I went to as a kid?” Tom ignored Harrison’s statement and asked the next question.

“Wasn’t it called Twinkle Toes or something?” Harrison answered with a confidence he shouldn’t have had.

“Twinkle Toes? You think my mum sent me to a studio called Twinkle Toes?” Tom asked, almost offended.

“It was called Nifty Feet but GOD I hope your fans start calling you Twinkle Toes.” You laughed and mentally gave yourself a point.

“Spider-Man Far From Home starring Tom ‘Twinkle Toes’ Holland. Coming to a theater near you.” Harrison said suavely as he winked at the camera.

“It’s out of the theaters now, but sure Haz.” Tom said sarcastically.

“Oh, shoot. What’s the new movie you’re in? Apple?” Harrison asked Tom.

“Cherry.” You corrected with a smile. “That’s another point for me.”

“I’m gonna pretend my best friend in the world didn’t just say I was in a movie called Apple and move on.” Tom said under his breath. “What book changed my life?”

“The Outsiders.” Harrison answered with a nod.

“Nope.” Tom shook his head. “Y/n?”

“Trick question. You don’t read.” You smiled to yourself for knowing the answer.

“You know me so well.” Toms eyes shone with pride at you.

“Haha. Suck on that, Haz.” You taunted Harrison mercilessly.

“How about you suck my-“ Harrison began.

“Next question.” Tom interrupted. “Have I ever been dumped?”

“You’re about to be if I don’t win.” You joked.

“Another point for Y/n.” Tom laughed as Harrison rolled his eyes. “Have I ever seen a ghost before?”

“Well Haz gets pretty pale in the winter. Does that count?” You asked innocently. Harrison looked ready to kill you.

“You’re so loud, Y/n. Did you know that?” Harrison dished it right back to you.

“Really? Your dad never complained.” You shrugged and Toms draw dropped.

“Children, please.” He said and gave the camera a pointed look.

“I feel like I’m being scolded by the principal.” You giggled, happy Tom was now the one feeling like the mother of two kids.

“Or my father.” Harrison added.

“Ugh. Daddy.” You sighed.

“I have heard Y/n say ‘daddy’ more times in this video than I have heard anyone say it all year.” Harrison commented on your behavior.

“Really? I hear it every night OHHHH.” Tom put his hand over his mouth and cheered himself on like a frat boy. You shook your head at the camera while Harrison looked a bit horrified.

“Do you want me to get demonetized? Is that your goal?” You looked at the boys for answers.

“Yes!” Harrison almost jumped out of his seat. “Was that the answer? Do I get a point? Was that a nod? I think I saw a nod.” Harrison said as he gave himself another point.

“Moving on.” Tom interjected. “What side of the bed do I sleep on?”

“I hate that I know this, but it’s the right.” Harrison answered before you could.

“Except if he’s had caffeine.” You cut in. “Then he sleeps on every side of the bed and I end up on the floor.”

“That happened one time.” Tom held up one finger.

“That happened three times, and one of them was last night.” You made sure your fans knew the truth.

“Tom and I once had a sleepover and I woke up with him underneath my pillow.” Harrison had his own story about Toms violent sleeping habits.

“Is this the attack Tom challenge?” Tom asked in defense. “Because I don’t think it is.”

“You tell me, Twinkle Toes.” Harrison slapped Tom on the back and you let out a laugh.

“Don’t laugh! It only encourages him.” Tom said to you.

“I’m sorry.” You said through giggles. “Come on. We’re almost done.”

“What is the stupidest thing I’ve ever done?” Tom read the last question from his phone.

“This video.” Harrison blurted and you nodded in agreement.

“Okay.” You laughed. “You deserved that point. You can have it.”

“Thank you it’s been a pleasure beating you today.” Harrison said poshly as you shook hands to signal the end of the challenge.

“Who won?” Tom asked as he looked between the two of you.

“I think it’s safe to say we are all losers.” You said. Harrison nodded in agreement.

“That’s all we have for you today. If you liked this video-“

“I can’t imagine you did.” Harrison cut in.

“-then be sure to give it a big thumbs up. If you want to see more of these two-“

“Of course they do.” Tom vogued for the camera and you swallowed thickly.

“-then hit subscribe down below. Thank you for watching and I’ll see you next time. Bye!” You kissed your hand and put it over the camera as the video faded to a black out.

Tag List 🏷

@maybemona @sunrise-shawn @meghan-8520xx @writing-for-hours-on-end @lavender-writer @captainmandeestudent17 @whatareyouhidingpeter @takenbyheartstrings @ultrunning @imyourliquor-youremypoison @theolwebshooter @autumnlyholland @andreasworlsboring101 @guksmyfav @waiting-to-be-myself @letsloveimagines @ho-ho-holland @peterparkoure @a-villain-vying-for-attention @m19friend

#tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x you #tom holland x youtuber!reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland fanfiction #harrison osterfield #harrison osterfeild imagine #harrison osterfeild x reader #peter parker fanfiction #peter parker imagine #peter parker x reader #peter parker x y/n #peter parker x you #spider man: homecoming #spiderman x reader #iron man #cherry

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curvynerdfan · 4 years ago

Text

Bookkeeper and the Biker

Thank you @xx—day-dreamer—xx for requesting and being patient! This piece was a lot of fun to write but took forever, sorry about that. I hope you like it! 💕

Also sorry for the overload of samcro gifs lol! I just love when you find gifs that fit the storyline

Jax x Reader

Y/N felt like her heart was gonna jump out of her chest. She was headed home. Well, her hometown, she hadn’t been “home” in over ten years. Her dad was killed on a run when she was sixteen and her mom used the opportunity to get her out of Charming. Not that Y/N wanted to leave. She always saw the club as her family but her mom despised SAMCRO after her dad passed. Y/N thought her mom blamed the MC for her dad’s death.

Y/N had flourished in her time away from Charming but still felt like something was missing. So she was going back. Over the past ten years, Y/N had grown her skills and felt confident in her decision to come back.

She loved growing up in Charming. She could remember running around the autoshop with Jax and Opie, driving Gemma insane because it wasn’t exactly safe. The clubhouse took hide-n-seek to a whole nother level and family dinners were her favorite club activity.

She called Gemma about a year ago and the mama bear of the club was ecstatic. At that point Y/N had no plans to move back. She just missed the rest of her family. They reminisced and caught up on each other’s lives. Gemma let her know how the club was doing and Y/N kept her second mom up-to-date on her life.

At some point, Y/N mentioned that her dream life consisted of running her own eclectic bookshop and living above it. She never thought her dream would become reality but Gemma had other plans. A two story shop in downtown Charming popped up on the market and momma Gemma called Y/N before a sign was outside the building. Once Gemma sent her all of the pictures and told her the price, Y/N snatched it up. While she had some savings, the purchase price was being covered by money her dad had left her in his will.Plus, her association with the clube convinced the owner to lower the asking price. She was given access to the fund when she turned 25 and she couldn't think of a better way to spend her money than to pursue her dreams. She even had money left over to purchase books and some furniture for her new place without dipping into her own savings.

Gemma told her she could stay in a clubhouse dorm until her apartment was set up. She pulled into the lot of Teller-Morrow and parked her car. Y/N felt the anxiety build and took a few deep breaths to settle her nerves.

“There is no reason to be nervous. It isn’t like you abandoned Jax or Ope. Hell, they may not even remember me, no biggie, no pressure”, she mumbled to herself, “Gemma invited you. No one goes against Gemma, right? And it’ll be nice to see my SAMCRO family. It’ll be great!” Y/N said, but she didn’t feel as confident as she sounded.

She opened the door and quickly stepped out before she could change her mind. Once completely out of the truck, she stretched her arm up high and arched her back. She grabbed her backpack and her duffle bag and locked up her truck before heading to the office to look for Gemma.

“Can I help you lassie?” A dark-haired Scotsman asked.

“Umm, yes please. I’m looking for Gemma.” she said.

“Ah, is she expecting you?” he questioned.

“Yes, you can just tell her Y/N is here.”, she clarified.

The Scotsman disappeared around the corner and Y/N took the time to take in her surroundings. Very little had changed. The Teller-Morrow signage was rusted and worn in some places, there was newer equipment It also looked there were members in SAMCRO than before based on the number of bikes parked in front of the clubhouse.

“Y/N! There you are baby!”, Gemma shouted as soon as she walked into the office.

Y/N couldn’t help but squeal when she launched herself at Gemma. They had always been close as she was growing up. Gemma taught Y/N how being a nerdy, tomboy didn’t mean that she wasn’t a beautiful badass too.

“Hey, momma.” she said when Gemma squeezed her tight.

Gemma leaned back to look her over and then kissed her cheeks in greeting before pulling Y/N out of the office and across the parking lot, ranting and raving about how great it will be to have a powerful woman back in Charming. Y/N just giggled and let herself be dragged around.

The momma bear had cleaned up a dorm for Y/N to have for however long she needed. While it still looked like a typical clubhouse dorm, there weren’t any posters of naked women or trash scattered around the room. There was also a gift basket of goodies on the bed for her.

Y/N hugged Gemma, “Thank you for going through all this trouble for me. I am happy to be home.”

“Not any trouble at all sweetheart. You’re not the only one happy that you’re back in Charming.I know Jax has been asking about you for a while!” Gemma said, nudging Y/N with an eyebrow raise.

Y/N’s face flushed, “Don’t start with that Gem! Neither one of us should get our hopes up.”, she mumbled.

Y/N has always been close to Jax and Opie but Jackson never fall into the brotherly category. She didn’t want to get excited about the idea of a relationship with Jax and possibly ruin the amazing friendship they have. Plus, she didn’t think she was his type. Gemma said he dated Tara for several years and was really hung up on her when she left. From what Y/N remembered, Tara was always snooty, looked down on the club, and had no desire to live a small town life.

“Baby, you know me, I wouldn’t lie to you. Jax has been head over heels for you from the get go. He kept asking if you remembered him, how you were doing, how he can help you find your place here. Hell, he stocked that top drawer over there with Reaper and SAMCRO shirts so anyone new knows you are important to us. I would wear one of those tonight if I were you!”, Gemma suggested, “Give him a chance before you close yourself off again”

Y/N nodded and decided not to argue when Gemma gave her that all knowing look. Gemma helped her unpack your bags before leaving the dorm. Y/N used the hours before the party to lay on the bed and order more materials for her shop. When she had about an hour before the party’s start time she decided to take a shower and get dolled up before joining the excitement.

After her shower, she rummaged through the drawer that was handpicked by Jax. Y/N ended up grabbing a black “fear the reaper” t-shirt, a pair of her ripped jeans and some old sneakers. Y/N knew better than to wear nice shoes to a SAMCRO party. Y/N decided to tie the t-shirt up so it showed a little bit of her mid-riff and enhanced her natural curves. She dried her hair and applied basic makeup before heading to the party.

Y/N weaved her way in and out of the crowd of club members, their old lady’s, croweaters, and wannabe bikers. She made it to the bar and ordered a double before making her way to Gemma. She was starving and knew the momma bear could direct her to the food.

“Damn babygirl! You are just trying to give these boys a run for their money huh?”, Gemma said approvingly, “Atta girl!”

Gemma fixed her up with a full plate and got her settled in with Tig and Piney. Y/N caught up with the guys and dug in on the delicious food Gemma cooked. All of the sudden to mammoth arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her into the air.

“What in the world!”, Y/N squealed.

A hefty laugh was the only response she received before she was dropped back down onto her feet. She spun around quickly and then gasped.

“Opie!” her shout pierced his ears and he flinched.

“Damn, you still have pipes!”Ope exclaimed as he wrapped Y/N up in a hug.

Y/N and Opie spent the next thirty minutes talking about life and joking around. Opie knew she was moving back so it wasn’t a surprise, but it was finally true now that she was in front of him. He was going to get married soon and wanted her to be there on his special day. Y/N and Opie had always agreed on the simpler things in life. They wanted to find their person, fall in love, get married, have kids, and live in Charming surrounded by friends and family.

Y/N gave Opie a hug and promised to visit more. The noise was getting to her though, after such a long drive the party wasn’t really her scene. She made a quick stop at the ladies room before getting a refill at the bar.

Jax made his way through the party, greeting members and partygoers as he made his way to Opie. His friend had a massive grin on his face and Jax couldn’t help but laugh. It was rare for the giant man he thought of as a brother to look like a silly puppy.

“What has you smiling so big, brother?” he asked, looking over.

“Y/N” was Opie’s one word response.

“Where?”, Jax couldn’t hold back his excitement.

Opie laughed and reached out to physically turn Jax around. His best friend laughed even harder when Jax’s jaw dropped. She was stunning. Y/N was still the beautiful girl he grew up with but he could tell she was more confident and her curves had developed even more. She was wearing one of the shirts he had picked out for him. That caused an odd sense of satisfaction. Y/N got her drink from the bartender and made her way down the hall and away from the party, more importantly away from him.

Opie slapped his back, “What are you waiting for man? Go get your girl!”

Jax felt his cheek warm and shook his head before swaggering after her. At some point she drifted out of his sight. Jax wracked his brain for where she could have snuck off too. After checking her dorm and finding it empty, he realized where she was. He climbed the stairs but paused before opening the hatch to the roof. What was he going to say to her? He hadn’t seen her in almost ten years. His mom assured him that she would reciprocate his feelings but how do you tell your childhood friend you want to be more.

Y/N jumped when the hatch creeped behind her. She didn’t think anyone would find her up here, but if anyone could it would be Jax or Opie. To her surprise, it was Jax. ‘Dear lordy, he is even hotter now,ah and that clenched jaw oof’, Y/N shook her head to clear her mind.

“Jax, you found me.” She whispered in awe.

It was real now, she was really in front of him “Y/N… of course I found you.”, he said with a sigh.

“Wow! I mean, you look really good, umm, not that you have ever looked bad. Well i guess you look bad in the baddass biker MC VP kinda way, congrats by the way. You don’t look bad ugly, not that you have ever looked ugly, you still take my breath away. I am not some flustered sixteen year old anymore and,” Y/N paused awkwardly, “ Oh my god, that is not how I wanted this to go. It’s been such a long time.I’ve missed you and your mom said you missed me to but now I’m not sure because all you’ve done is stare at me so far, so maybe your mom was wron-” Y/N paused when lips were on hers.

She could feel Jax’s lips smirking against hers, “I missed you too”, he whispered before kissing her again.

Y/N hummed, pulling away from him, “That is the best way anyone has ever made me shut up”

She leaned against his chest before looking up at him again, “What does this mean, Jax?”

“Are you really staying this time?”, he asked.

Y/N nodded, smiling at the sheepish look on his face.

“Then, I want to make you my old lady someday. For now, we can just see how things go. I always pictured us ending up together, but I don’t want to force anything. Biker and a bookkeeper, who would’ve thought?” He smiled.

“I did”, Y/N grinned.

She pulled on Jax and had him join her on ‘their ledge’. He chuckled gently in her ear as he wrapped an arm around her. He couldn’t wait to see where this was going to go. The idea of the bookkeeper and the biker felt good.

Taglist: @justahopelessssromantic

#sons of anarchy imagine #request #jax teller #jackson teller #gemma teller #chibs telford #tig trager #opie winston #samcro #sons of anarchy #samcro imagine #sons of anarchy request #jax x reader #jax oneshot #momma gemma #big brother opie vibes #bookkeeper and the biker #my work

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rkorlov · 4 years ago

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Harmonies (JATP fanfic) Part 2

{1st chapter.} {Wattpad link.}

Summary: Julie and the Phantoms get a proposal that’s huge. In the meantime, Julie has to deal with Carlos knowing about the boys.

Word count: 1936

Chapter 2, Brand New

Flynn approached Julie in the hallway, the girl had a huge smile and was letting no one forget Julie and the Phantoms had played the Orpheum. It had been a couple nights, people still congratulated her when they saw her and whispered big things were coming their way. Julie wasn’t sure of anything, she was far more concerned about the boys now, she didn’t know if Caleb was coming back, the boys had no idea what their unfinished business could be and deep down, she was sure she didn’t want to say goodbye to them. Not now, not after she started playing again, after she enjoyed herself on stage and had a great time. Not now that she felt genuinely happy.

“Let me guess, you were lost into smiley land and that’s why you weren’t picking up your phone last night.”

“Luke and I were writing a song and after that I had dinner and went straight to bed. I saw your message first thing.”

“Uuuh, so we’re gonna have new music.” Flynn said, excited. Julie hated to disappoint her in that moment.

“I don’t think we will be singing this one… it’s quite personal for both of us.”

Flynn shook her head, and leaning on the lockers, looked at Julie. “Oh boy, no way of saving you from this one, is there? Writing love songs pretty much seals your fate.” She got close for an inch and made sure no one else heard. “What about Nick and the flowers?”

“He knows I like someone else, the flowers were just because he enjoyed the show. As long as he can’t tell is Luke who I like, then it’s alright.”

“Oh girl, we’re past from that, everyone can tell it’s him. Actually, you’re so lucky people can only see him when you’re singing because otherwise you’d be selling yourselves over.” She shrugged. “I’m still so surprised you’ve got no problem sharing those looks while your dad’s on the audience.”

Julie fell in complete silence and felt how her heart was in panic. She forgot about the rest of the world when that happened, no question why her father wanted to meet the boys. No wonder why he spent the weekend asking for the boy with the guitar. She was thankful none of the boys were around while that conversation happened. It’s safe to say it was uncomfortable, but Julie hadn’t thought of the fact that maybe everyone could see the same she saw.

“Maybe we do have to tone it down a little, huh?” Out the corner of her eye, Julie thought she was hallucinating.

Carrie walked towards them, for the first time she was all alone, displaying a smile on her face. A smile directed at them? Maybe that was the day of reckoning and everyone needed to get their apocalypse gear out, right? There was no other explanation.

“Julie! Right the person I was looking for.” She looked at Carrie with furrowed eyebrows and pointed at herself with a twitch of her lip. Since when that was a thing that happened? “Yes you, my father is putting up a show, we saw you the other night at the Orpheum, and he wanted to invite you and your Phantoms to perform. Dirty Candy is gonna be there, too.”

“Oh, that’s…” she was at a loss for words. “That’s very kind of your dad. I…”

“You’re gonna think about it?”

“Sure thing, I’ll let you know.” Carrie walked away and Flynn turned towards Julie with enough of a surprised expression to last for a day. “What just happened?”

“You tell me! Since when is Carrie… nice?”

But that was not what Julie had in mind. What she thought about was Carrie’s dad being in the audience of the Orpheum. Trevor, Trevor Wilson, the guy she thought introduced her to rock. The guy who used Sunset Curve’s songs, Luke’s lyrics, was at the audience of the Orpheum. He saw them perform and what if… what if he recognized the boys? There was no way he didn’t recognize his old bandmates.

“We may have a bigger problem than Carrie being nice!”

A quiet sound of guitar riffs came from the studio. Julie opened the door to see Alex at the drums, Reggie standing beside him tuning in his bass and Luke, playing chords on his guitar while he lay on the couch. She thought during the entire day how to break the news to them, coming to the conclusion there wasn’t really a good way of doing so. The boys would freak out the moment she opened her mouth.

“Hey, guys… so, I kinda have good and not so good news.”

“Let me guess, let me guess!” Reggie said. “You were bringing us pizza but then you remembered we can’t eat.”

Julie chuckled and shook her head. “Not exactly. The good news is we have a gig opportunity…”

Luke didn’t let her finish. He jumped on his feet and walked to her. “That’s amazing news, we’re so ready for it. When is it?” A happiness she hated to let down.

“Let me give you the complete information first…” she held up a finger towards Luke. He stared down at her signalling for her to continue. “Carrie’s dad was at the show at Orpheum, seems like he liked our music so he’s inviting us to a show he’s throwing.”

“You mean BOBBY?” Luke blurted out, as if Julie had managed to insult him deep. She nodded. Luke turned towards the boys and shook his head. “No way, we’re not going.”

“I don’t know, it could be a great opportunity…” Alex threw, shrugging.

“He stole our songs and never gave us any credit. Why would we perform at a show with him?” Luke gestured with his hands, letting down his guitar. Julie had learnt to recognize pretty fast when he was upset, physically he was impossible not to read.

“That’s not the bad news, though.” She said, calling for Luke’s attention. Maybe making him pay attention would help. “He’s the only person from your past that saw you and what if he recognized you, guys? What if he has something to say and this is a great moment to say something.”

“We can totally try and talk to him.” Reggie suggested.

“Exactly how, genius? The only person who can see us is Julie.” Luke let out, dropping his weight on the couch. “It’s not like we can call him out while we’re performing.”

“No but if the moment presents itself, I can totally vouch for you,” she said. “Carrie and I used to be friends, her dad knows me, he’ll… he’ll listen.”

Alex put down his drumsticks. “I say we go, we need some answers.”

“I’m with Alex, we can’t really hold onto anger forever.” Reggie said with a side smile and a shrug. “What do you say, Luke?”

He didn’t say a thing. A frown took over his whole expression. It only softened when Julie shifted his way; she tried to convince him with a gesture, a silent talk between them begging him please to consider it. The boys were angry at Bobby, they had enough reasons to be, but they still had to let go so they could keep moving forward, it was the best they could do. Luke finally gave in and nodded to Julie. She smiled and was about to approach him when she heard Carlos’ voice from behind.

“So… how are the guys doing?”

“Huh?” She turned around. Her brother was leaning against the door, looking past Julie. “What guys?”

“The ones you were talking with.”

“I… I wasn’t talking with anyone,” she played dumb. “There’s no one else in here.”

“I figured you were gonna say that but,” the boy said, taking out from his pocket a picture taken straight out of Sunset Curve’s demo album. Julie looked at it and let out a deep breath. Busted, totally busted. “Don’t they look familiar?”

“You gotta give it to him, he’s thorough in his research,” Reggie let out, the boys giving him a look. “What? He is.”

Luke stood up and walked next to Julie. “He’s not gonna tell anyone, is he?”

Julie looked up at him and shrugged. Her brother wasn’t nosey and he always tried to help her so she trusted him to keep it all in. “We can keep this a secret, right? No telling dad.��

Carlos took a hand to his chin and made a thoughtful grin. “We can but you’re gonna have to answer some ghostly doubts first.”

After giving Carlos the 101 guide on how to deal with ghosts, exchange that ended on him disappointed of not actually being able to interact with the boys, Julie went out searching for Luke; who had vanished from the studio and hadn’t come back for more than an hour. She wanted to make sure he wasn’t changing his mind, or freaking out about it. It was enough of a sensitive topic for him, Bobby stole his lyrics after all and music for Luke was the biggest expression of his soul. Knowing someone else, a friend, had taken his lyrics and sang them as their own and never even remembered his name while doing so was hurtful.

Bouncing a basketball and throwing it to the ring for it to bounce back and start again, she found him. Focused on his movements as if he were playing guitar, he bounced the ball once again before seeing her and stopping it mid-air.

“Hey!” He said, eyes glued on her, something Julie wasn’t sure how to take in. his eyes were always so full of the world. “Everything’s alright with your brother?”

“Yeah, he’s… he’s only bummed he can’t actually talk and hang out with ghosts but he won’t tell.” She played with her hands in her pockets and finally decided to speak. “How are you, though? I know the idea of doing this is big, playing in a show for Bobby after all that happened…”

“It’s…” he shrugged. “Ever since I found out he stole our songs I’ve been really angry and I know, I know we gotta let go of the past but there are some things that just linger. I mean, I like our music now more than ever, singing with you is the best… it’s just that…”

“He stole a part of you.”

Luke nodded. “But I’m on board with the boys; the best for us is to move on. Focus on here, what we have is pretty great…” he said, closing in the space between them. His bright eyes changed it all for her, every time, and now they were so sincere. Julie couldn’t emphasize enough how she loved playing with the boys, how much happier she felt since they showed up, how grateful she was with her mom for sending them her way. She needed them as much as they needed her. And now knowing how all Luke made her feel was too good, with its own stones to stumble in but good. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything.” Neither would she.

Luke offered his hand, intertwining her fingers with his she took him, closing in the rest of the space between them. Forehead to forehead, she closed her eyes as she let the feeling spread through her body. The gleefulness of being able to connect with him that way was homely, like landing on a safe place and being held by the right arms. Not even a thought of the impossibilities of their relationship could break how she managed to feel in that moment. Infinite, full of peace. Brand new.

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Hello! Once again, I’m putting in the tags the people who have interected with the previous post and who want to be tagged. Thank you so much for reading and remember you can drop prompts for the fic, whatever you’d like to see I’d be really happy to play out. My ask box is always open, either for this fic or one shots.

Tags: @cordeliapeters @leahthewonder @a-chaotic-ananas @just-henny @helookedupgrinninglikeadevil @oliveswiftly @sammy-stan @sweetlikecherry-wine @lmaohuh @fantomgirlonsonthin @laughswaytoomuch @loveyatopluto @sammi36 @artemiscrock913

Thanks again for reading, it means the world!

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rosethornewrites · 5 years ago

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Fic: The Rebellion of Adrien Agreste ch. 1-2

Characters: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir, Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth, Lila Rossi, Jagged Stone, Plagg, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug, Luka Couffaine, Penny Rolling, Anarka Couffaine, Rose Lavillant, Juleka Couffaine, Kagami Tsurugi, Alya Césaire, Chloé Bourgeois, Wayhem, Nadja Chamack, Nathalie Sancoeur, Sabine Cheng, Tom Dupain, Tikki, Fang, Principal Damocles, Caline Bustier, Ms. Mendeleiev, original minor character, Alec Cataldi, Lila Rossi's Mother, Sabrina Raincomprix, Roger Raincomprix, Mylène Haprèle, Le Gorille | Adrien Agreste's Bodyguard, Nino Lahiffe, Nooroo

Tags: Lila Rossi salt, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Teenage Rebellion, Swearing, Bad Parent Gabriel Agreste, Crack Treated Seriously, Lila Rossi's Lies Are Exposed, Cuddling & Snuggling, Luka Couffaine Needs a Hug, Paparazzi, Parentification, Marinette Dupain-Cheng Needs a Hug, Gabriel Agreste Needs an Aneurism, Uncle Jagged Stone, we're all queer here, the spirit of punk is sometimes just being allowed to be yourself, Kagami Finds Her Groove, punk rock fashion, Savage Kagami, Marinette protection squad, Good Parent Sabine Cheng, Good Parent Tom Dupain, Protective Kagami Tsurugi, Protective Luka Couffaine, Bisexual Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Pansexual Luka Couffaine, Sharing a Bed, Pet Names, LGBTQ Character, LGBTQ Themes, Instagram, Bullying, Social Media, Anxiety, Makeover, Hugs, will cure your acne, Face Punching, Bad Ass Juleka Couffaine, Rumors, Protective Juleka Couffaine, Protective Adrien Agreste, Lawyers, Hijinks & Shenanigans, Holding Hands, accountability, mental health, Jagged Stone's well-paid pet shark, How to Make the Evening News, Sexy eyeliner for days, one fish two fish Lila is a screwed fish, How to have fun and piss Gabriel off, Fuckery, sweet litigious karma, Alya sugar, lawyer shark doo doo doo doo doo doo, Schadenfreude, Bad Ass Alya Césaire, Gaslighting, abuse denormalization, Jagged likes his lawyers like he likes his pets: toothy af, Blood in the Water, Everything you didn’t know you wanted and some things you did, Gabriel Agreste is shark bait, Denial, Consequences, Principal Damocles salt, caline bustier salt, the impotence of Gabriel Agreste, snarky Nooroo, lies and the lying liars who tell them, Lila's brain is a narcissistic hellscape, Lila’s mind is built like an Escher piece, Alec Cataldi salt, Adrien Sugar, wholesome salt, Fu Salt, Kwami Shenanigans, Nooroo is a little shit

Summary: Gabriel decides that Adrien entering a romantic relationship is a good move for the brand. He chooses Lila Rossi as the other half. Adrien nopes tf out.

Notes: I was gonna have it be a slow acceleration, but Adrien was all “Go big or go home.” Also trying to find motivation to write more of this fic.

AO3 link

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“No,” Adrien growled. “Absolutely not!”

Lila made a show of crying, not that anyone in the room believed her tears were real.

Gabriel frowned at him from his desk. “This will be good for the brand—”

“Fuck the brand!”

“Adrien! This is unbecoming. You will be seen to be dating Ms. Rossi. That is final.”

Adrien’s fists were so tight he was sure he had crescents eating into his palms. “Like hell it is! I will not date that—” he gestured at Lila “—lying cow. Not after how she’s hurt my friends.”

Said girl gasped, outraged, and Adrien was glad to see she actually looked truly upset.

His father stood, but kept his voice emotionless, calm, self-assured that he would capitulate. “Cease this ridiculous teenage rebellion.”

He saw red, but oddly it calmed him. “Father, you have not seen teenage rebellion,” he said, his voice almost terrifyingly calm. “But I would be happy to teach you what it looks like if you try to force me to do this.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed behind his glasses. Adrien could see him considering that, but then discarding it. “It will be in the papers tomorrow. If you misbehave, you’ll no longer be permitted to go to school.”

Adrien snorted. He knew more ways to escape this house than his father could possibly anticipate—some he’d made himself, even. “Good luck, Gabe. You’re going to need it.”

He spun on his heel before his father could respond and slammed the door behind him. With the enhanced strength he had as the Black Cat Miraculous chosen, the wood cracked audibly.

As he made his way back to his room, he realized the opportunity his father had just placed in his lap. As the face of the brand, Adrien had more power than Gabriel seemed to realize. It was time to stretch those muscles.

He had planning to do.

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His father had spectacularly good timing for pulling this kind of stunt—for Adrien, anyway. He’d heard from a couple of friends of his that a certain rock star was in town. And if anyone was up for promoting teenage rebellion, Adrien had no doubt it would be Jagged Stone.

It was child’s play to sneak out of the house. He didn’t even have to transform to do it. From there it was just making his way to the Grand Paris Hotel. The staff assumed he was there to see Chloé, so getting in was no problem. Jagged Stone always rented the same suite, so that wasn’t an issue, either.

The hard part, he knew, would come after he knocked on the door.

Jagged opened the door, and then peered at him suspiciously.

“Um, M. Stone, I don’t know if you remember me but—”

The rock star suddenly broke into a wide grin. “Oh, you’re Marinette’s model friend, right?”

Adrien blinked. Maybe this wouldn’t be so hard. His rock idol knew him?

Sadly, he had no time to fanboy.

“Yes, Adrien. I was wondering if I could trouble you for some help?”

And so that was how Adrien Agreste wound up sitting in Jagged Stone’s suite, petting Fang, and telling him about the woe that was the obsession his father had with Lila Rossi, Liar Extraordinaire.

“She said I had a what?”

“A kitten. And she got Marinette expelled and is just being really awful to her.”

Jagged opened a cell phone. “Penny, I need you. Yes, I know I sent you for macrons, but this is really important. Bring my niece with.”

When he was finished, he turned to Adrien again. “We’ll get that taken care of.”

“That’s not all, M. Stone.”

He pressed forward, telling his idol of the relationship he was being forced into and his promise to show Gabriel Agreste just what he could do if he really rebelled.

When he was done, Jagged’s face was gleeful in an almost terrifying way.

“Oh, please tell me I get to help with this?” At Adrien’s nod the man whooped in excitement. “Brilliant. Once my niece gets here, we’ll plan properly. She’s a planner, that one. Smart as a whip.”

Adrien blinked. “Your niece?”

“Marinette, of course! Honorary niece.”

His jaw dropped. Marinette had always had the upper hand on Lila, could call in Jagged at any moment to destroy her, and had held back. He never should’ve stopped her.

“My father can’t know she helped. He’s got so much power in the fashion industry, and I don’t want to hurt her career.”

Jagged waved away his concerns. “Mate, listen. From what I understand you’re the face of that company. You have the power, not him. Get you in some Marinette originals, and he can’t undo the fame that’ll bring her.”

Adrien hadn’t considered that. “I just don’t want her hurt.”

He heard the door open, and then a soft, “Adrien?”

It meant he had to explain the situation all over again, letting Jagged Stone assure her that he was going to pop the liar’s kitten whopper as soon as possible.

“I can stop by your school with Fang, yeah? They can’t keep me from saying hi to my favorite niece.”

Marinette bit her lip. “That would be helpful, but for Adrien…”

Adrien smiled. “I want you to design me a new look. Something we can do here and now—maybe with the discrete help of some of the hotel staff, since they have that nice spa and such. Hair dye, new clothes. Maybe some fake piercings. Oooh, a fake tattoo?”

Jagged glanced at Penny, who looked uncertain about this. “Don’t be a party pooper, Penny.”

“His father might sue you,” she pointed out.

“Like I care. I have money.” He grinned. “And for what? Giving his kid a makeover?”

“French law—”

“Nope, don’t care. It’s happening. Get his sizes and go to my favorite stores. Adrien, what color scheme?”

Adrien blinked. He hadn’t thought that far. He glanced at Marinette. “Um, do you think Chat Noir would mind if I used his colors? I think of him when I think teenage rebellion.”

That was more because being Chat Noir had up to this point been his way of rebelling, but she didn’t need to know that.

To his surprise, Marinette grinned, the smile wide enough to match Jagged’s. “Oh, I like that idea. Chains and spikes? Fake lip ring and septum?”

“Absolutely!”

Jagged made a shooing motion at Penny, who rolled her eyes and headed toward the door, before joining in. “Now how about this idea: black and neon green hair, done to look like a skunk’s stripes!”

Adrien was surprised to find himself laughing honestly at the idea. He’d been so angry less than an hour ago, but this was truly fun. “This makes me think of those J-Rock bands, how they used to dress up.”

Jagged’s phone let out a guitar riff and he glanced at it. “Oh, right. Penny needs your measurements. Shoe size, too. Definitely some stomping boots, I think.”

He handed over his unlocked phone for Adrien to text.

“I’ll call the salon, yeah?”

Adrien nodded, texting the information, then froze. “Wait, Chloé might tell my father.”

That got a laugh. “Nah. They’re discrete. They bring everything up here for me—I won’t be around people if I’m getting my hair dyed.”

While Jagged made the call, Adrien finished the text. When he looked up, Marinette was watching him. She turned pink when she realized he’d caught her.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked after a moment.

He sighed, slumping back on the sofa and resting his hand on Fang’s head again. “No, but I don’t have any better ones. That stupid news claiming I’m with Lila’s going to hit tomorrow. And I’m so done with this, with him treating me like I’m property.”

Marinette looked worried, and he tried to muster up a smile. From her expression, he didn’t manage it.

“Maybe…” she started, then trailed off.

“Maybe?”

She didn’t look at him. “Maybe you should look into laws involving child labor and parental responsibility. You… you might be able to get emancipated.”

That startled him—something he hadn’t even thought of before. He hadn’t even been aware it was an option.

When Marinette did look at him, her eyes were stormy. “He’s so… cruel to you. Maybe there’s legal recourse.”

“I’ll think about it,” he murmured. That seemed like such a drastic measure. “I don’t know if I want to go that far.”

She nodded, and he excused himself to go to the bathroom.

Plagg shot out of his pocket the moment the door was closed. “I’m so proud of you kid. This is gonna be great!”

“Thanks, Plagg.”

The kwami grabbed the proffered wedge of camembert.

“And think about what Pigtails said. Your dad’s a real piece of work, and you deserve better.”

“I will.”

Adrien could feel the idea turning over in his mind, as though gathering strength. When he left the bathroom, Jagged met him excitedly.

“I have just the idea! A temporary face tattoo!”

#miraculous ladybug #miraculous fanfiction #adrien agreste #jagged stone #uncle jagged #penny rolling #plagg #marinette dupain cheng #gabriel agreste #gabriel agreste’s a+ parenting #lila rossi #lila salt #lila 'the liar' rossi #ml salt #miraculous salt #my fanfiction #The Rebellion of Adrien Agreste

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riderunlove · 3 years ago

Text

Ghosts and Guns 16/16

The desperately needed conversations still weren’t happening. The night they’d defeated Caleb, and discovered Luke was playing again, he had somehow maneuvered them into a jam session. The next morning, he’d made himself scarce. He was avoiding being alone with any of them, but playing it off well enough that no one could call him on it. Time for another approach. Julie grabbed the guys and announced they were headed to her house for the weekend. She and Flynn had bullied Trevor into agreeing. They’d gotten in late, but Julie woke up early and habit had her peeking into the guest room. Only two of her boys were there. He probably just wanted coffee.

She wandered downstairs. Her dad was doing the crossword puzzle at the kitchen table, but he was alone.

“Have you seen Luke this morning? I can’t find him anywhere.” Julie tried to keep her voice from edging into panic, her Dad would pick up on it instantly.

Ray pointed in the direction of the garage.

“Already?”

“Mija, he never came in last night,” it was more a question than a statement.

“I’ll go get him. He needs to eat something.” She sighed, familiar frustration bubbling up. He was making this so difficult.

“That attitude won’t help whatever is going on here,” Ray warned.

“It’s just been so hard,” she whispered.

Ray’s expression turned knowing, and his eyes flickered towards the doorway briefly “Something happened while he was gone and it made a huge impact on all of you, but you can’t let it define the future. Clinging to the past won’t fix anything, but it could ruin everything.”

“What if it’s already ruined?” Julie whispered, heart in her throat.

“He’d be farther away than the studio,” Ray’s eyes softened, “maybe make a plan before you guys burst in there.”

She turned to see Alex and Reggie behind her, nodding in agreement.

The plan was divide and conquer. Reggie thought all three of them together would send him running, and he probably wasn’t wrong. Julie volunteered to go first.

She slipped into the studio quietly, expecting to be greeted by an aggressive guitar riff; instead Luke was asleep on the couch, looking small and alone. Even in sleep his face was set in tense lines. Normally she would make room for herself, comb her fingers through his hair until he relaxed, but she couldn’t shake the image of her hand falling through his a few nights ago. She knew it was intentional so she wasn’t sure what his boundaries were anymore. The harder any of them pushed him, the more he retreated. His journal was open on the coffee table and her fingers itched with the urge to flip through it, to know the secrets he was hiding.

She had no idea what he was thinking or how he was feeling and that was so very strange. She had always felt so connected to him, they understood each other on such a deep level, and losing his steady support had felt like a missing limb. Flynn had always joked that he followed her around like an excitable puppy, but the lost version of him she had brought home had broken her heart.

Her feet brought her closer without her conscious permission, she needed grounding contact. She stumbled a little on the corner of the rug and the shuffling was enough to wake Luke. He blinked up at her like a sleepy kitten, and she barely stifled a giggle. She sat down next to him, and carefully guided his head onto her thigh. He rested a hand on her knee, and she tangled her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck.

“Why are you hiding out here?” she asked softly, reluctant to disturb the quiet morning.

Luke tensed for a moment before sighing deeply and admitting “I didn’t want to make anyone uncomfortable. Wasn’t sure they would sleep if I was in the room with them.”

Julie’s heart sank and she started rubbing soothing circles into his skin. “It’s going to get better.” She whispered.

He hummed noncommittally, but gently squeezed her knee.

“You scared me,” the words slipped out almost desperately, “Please don’t leave me again.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” he whispered.

For a wild moment Julie considered just never leaving the studio, never even getting off the couch. They were safe, he was whole and they could just live together in a musical bubble. She shook herself before her imagination could get carried away.

Luke must have picked up on her mood, because he carefully moved her hand out his hair and sat up, looking at her with concern, “Julie, what’s wrong?”

“What are you writing?” She asked, cutting him off.

“Just trying something.” His expression turned wary.

“Can I read it?” She reached towards it, he needed to stop hiding.

“It’s dark Jules,” he sounded resigned, but his face had gone blank. He didn’t try to pull the journal away, though he clearly wanted to.

Does he think he can’t say no? She flipped the journal closed. She caught his surprise before he hid it.

“I wish you would tell someone what’s going on in your head, but I’m not going to force my way in, you are entitled to privacy. It’s hard to know you are hurting, and won’t let me help.”

He looked away for a moment. “I don’t know how to let anyone help.”

She reached up, grabbing his chin and gently turning his head towards her. “That worries me. You don’t have to do this alone.”

“I don’t want to scare you,” he whispered.

She got lost in the stormy depths of his eyes for a moment before she replied, “ You can’t scare me any more than you already have. But it’s not what you think. I’m not bothered by the phasing, or your newfound affinity for knives. ”

A small lopsided smile grew on his face, “I’ve always liked knives.”

She didn’t smile back. She removed her hand from his face, but he caught it in his, lacing their fingers together and resting their joined hands on her thigh.

“Tell me, Jules.”

“We were always partners, equals, and Caleb almost ruined that.” His brow furrowed in total confusion, and she continued before he could interrupt, “Your programming meant you needed a handler, one that you obeyed without question. You latched onto me, I guess because some small part of you recognized our closeness. Having that much power over you was the scariest, most awful thing I’ve ever experienced and I hated every moment of it. Sometimes I don’t know how to talk to you because I’m terrified it will happen again. I start questioning everything I say.”

“I’m so sorry.” the sincerity bled through his words and was all over his face.

“It’s not your fault but I wanted to put everything out there so that you can finally believe me when I tell you how wrong Caleb was. If you had agreed to go with him I would have killed him.”

“Don’t say that Jules, you don’t want blood on your hands like that.”

“I would have. No hesitation. Never again. I love you, and this will never happen again.” Panic spread as she realized what she had just admitted. It was her turn to look away.

His free hand came up to her cheek, turning her head until he could meet her eyes, “I’m glad to hear that, because I love you too.” The sunshine smile she had missed so desperately spread across his face and she pressed a quick kiss to his palm.

His expression melted into a quiet awe, before he whispered “Can I kiss you?”

“Please,” she said even as she moved to close the distance between them.

She lost track of time, too caught up in soft lips, warm skin and wandering hands. The alarm she’d set on her phone for a check in went off sending her and Luke scrambling apart.

“Sorry. We set a time limit to check in, didn’t want to push too hard.”

Luke rolled his eyes, “You guys are such dorks.”

“Yeah, well we’re your dorks and you are stuck with us.”

“Yeah, I am. Now go send the next victim into the fight.” The affectionate warmth in his voice did not make it easy to leave. But she couldn’t hog him, at least not now. Maybe later. She wandered back to the house, she had the beginnings of a song flickering in her mind.

Reggie went next. He wanted to clear any misunderstandings, both between him and Luke and regarding something Caleb had said. Surely Luke knows that we would never let Trevor do that, but I can’t shake the feeling he is expecting it.

“I’m glad you didn’t go with Caleb. He didn’t treat you very well.”

Luke cracked a half smile, “He’s not known for his kindness. You guys will make sure Trevor at least remembers to feed me.”

“You’re not funny.”

Silence. Reggie searched Luke’s face for confirmation it was a joke, heart sinking into his stomach.

“Luke, you’re not funny,” he repeated.

“I wasn’t trying to be.”

“That’s not going to happen. Caleb was bluffing. No one wants that.”

“I can think of two people who might, possibly three,” Luke replied, clipped.

“If it comes to that, which it won’t, I’ll help you disappear,” he vowed.

A small crooked smile snuck onto Luke’s face and it encouraged him to continue.

“We need you, as yourself. Not your ghost. While you were missing I had to be the responsible one. Me. I’m not cut out for that.” Reggie exclaimed dramatically, begging for sympathy.

“You did a great job, Reg. You kept Alex out of his head and connected to the team and protected Julie and made sure she knew she belonged. Everyone is happy and accounted for. ”

Luke’s reassurance made him feel warm, only to have the creeping cold come back at his second sentence. Doing the thing where you count everyone but yourself? “Accounted for yes, happy not quite.”

Luke didn’t pretend to misunderstand, “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine, I always am.”

Telegraphing his movements, Reggie moved to sit next to Luke, pulling him into a side hug. “You will be because you are going to let us help you heal. In return you will help us heal too. A happy circle of love. Also you are never allowed to sacrifice yourself again. Ever. Do you understand me?”

“Yes,” Luke promised, moving to turn their side hug into a brief but tight hug.

“Good. Because I need my brother, Alex needs his best friend and Julie needs her boyfriend.”

Luke hummed in agreement and then choked at Reggie’s last designation.

“Umm I’m not so sure about that last one.”

“I am. Just trust me.” Julie had been practically floating when she came back to the house that morning.

“Boundaries are a thing Reg.”

“Yeah, I don’t think you get to tell people that.” he raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Luke sighed, “That’s fair. I’m offended on Julie’s behalf though.”

Reggie just shook his head, “I really don’t think you need to be. Are you done hiding? I’m making lunch.”

Reggie’s heart squeezed when Luke shook his head. “Nothing good ever comes from pushing Alex, you know that.”

“This is your family, and your safe space too, Luke,” he tried.

His friend shrugged, eyeing his guitar and Reggie accepted it for the gentle dismissal it was. He wandered back to the house, the sense of impending doom lifted from his shoulders, replaced with a solid warmth of peace.

Alex didn’t feel ready for this conversation. Julie had come back from the studio with a dreamy smile that had him and Reggie exchanging knowing looks. The two of them were so painfully obvious that their group had resorted to a betting pool on when they’d finally get together. Reggie had come back looking centered and relaxed, with the stress lines gone from his brow and the corners of his mouth.

Reggie had shot him a loaded look, but didn’t say anything, instead continuing into the kitchen to talk with Ray. Julie had disappeared into the yard with her notebook, writing something most likely. They would give him all the time and space that he needed; they would wait for him. He took a cleansing breath, held it, before blowing it out slowly. He was making too big of a deal out of this. It wasn’t like he’d never fought with Luke before. They’d always worked it out, they would this time too.

There was soft acoustic guitar coming from the studio. Writing or processing then. Alex idly hoped it would be less of a gut punch than the last thing he’d heard Luke play. He knocked twice before slowly opening the door and stepping into the studio.

“Alex?” Luke looked up, his surprise painfully obvious.

Coupled with the hesitant tone, it was a slap in the face.

“Don’t know why you’re asking. I’m not the one who was recently someone else,” his hurt turning his words sharp in a way he instantly regretted.

Luke ignored his outburst, his gaze turned considering as he studied his face.

“Are you disappointed?”

“Dude, what are you talking about?”

“Reggie said Trevor’s not going to wipe me after all.”

“Of course he’s not, but now I’m even more lost.”

“Don’t pretend. We both know that’s what you wanted,” Luke bit back, voice frigid.

No. This was not happening. His best friend did not actually believe that. Alex glanced down to make sure the floor wasn’t actually collapsing underneath him. “Luke, how could you think that?”

“How could I not?” Luke whispered, expression vulnerable for a moment before shuttering.

For a fraction of a second Alex considered running over and shaking his friend, as if to physically dislodge the horrible thought, but there were myriad reasons why that was a bad idea. Alex didn’t know what to say, but he had to say something. Luke would take his silence as confirmation. “There is nothing that I want less than that, please believe me,” he implored.

“Then don’t lie to me. It would work out nicely for you. I’d still be around so Julie and Reggie would be happy and you won’t have to be afraid of me anymore.” Luke continued flatly.

“Don’t put Caleb’s words in my mouth,” Alex warned.

“If the shoe fits,” Luke sniped.

He’s hurting, he gets like this. Don’t let him bait you into saying something you will regret. That’s how you’ll lose him.

“They’d never be happy if you weren’t yourself, and neither would I. You want the truth? Fine. The merciless, relentless creature Caleb made you into was terrifying, but it was also heartbreaking to think that was all that was left of you- that everything that makes you you was just gone. Seeing what the cost of that was- the total lack of agency and any sense of self, was devastating. At the same time I have never been so angry. I’m not afraid of you. I’m afraid that this is temporary, that there is some hidden trigger and we will lose you to that again.” Alex knew he was rambling but now that he had started, the words kept pouring out.

Luke didn’t interrupt.

“I overreacted to changes because in my mind it was proof The Ghost would come back. It felt like I was the only one who could see what was happening, and I was trying to prepare myself for that moment. I thought if I pushed you away, pretended you never came back to us, it would hurt less when we lost you. I realized how fucking stupid that was during the confrontation with Caleb.”

“It wasn’t all you,” Luke offered, a tentative truce.

“Maybe not, but I won’t stand here and pretend I wasn’t a large part of it. I have to decide how I’m going to live with that. Realizing I had no idea how you would choose was one of the worst moments of my life.”

“C’mon you know I was never going to accept,” Luke scoffed.

“Lying to me, and yourself isn’t going to help anyone.”

Luke blew out a long breath and nodded slowly, “there was a moment it was tempting. To forget, to walk away, for it to stop hurting. But it would never be worth the price of compromising everything about myself- and hurting all of you.”

“Where do we go from here?”

“Wherever we want. None of us will ever be the same, but that doesn’t mean that everything has to change. Or maybe it does, but we get to decide that- as a team and a family.” Luke’s tone brooked no argument and Alex felt the smile spreading across his face.

“Absolutely. Now let’s go see what Reggie is making for lunch.”

He wrapped an arm around Luke’s shoulder as they walked back to the house, ready for a new normal. Everything wasn’t perfect, or even fully resolved, but all of them had taken steps to starting again, and that was the key.

The evening found them ordering a truly obscene amount of pizza and settling in for a movie night. No one was invested in choosing a movie so Reggie gleefully started Star Wars. In release order of course, the only acceptable way. Even the lure of space battles and jedi’s couldn’t tear his attention fully away from his family. Alex finally looked relaxed and at peace as he plowed through a bag of popcorn and texted someone (probably Willie) in the chair across from him. Julie was sitting in Luke’s lap on the couch, her head tucked under his chin. He was absent mindedly wrapping and unwrapping curls around his fingers and she was playing with his free hand. In short everyone was exactly where they should be.

#so this is still a little sad but it's hopeful #it's mostly happy #but there were things that had to be discussed #winter soldier au #jatp #mere pretends to write sometimes #i'm tired of fussing over this so here ya go

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jovialyouthmusic · 4 years ago

Text

Silver Service

The Court visits the Cormery Isles without Lady Olivia. Lucretia makes plans and Anton makes an unpleasant discovery.

Word Count 2964

A/N Apologies for the delay in posting. the chapter is short, but a lot happens. Warning - harm to a major character.

19 We move closer...

‘Excuse me your Grace’ James knocked on the door of Liam’s bedroom, where he was packing for the trip to Cormery.

‘What is it, James?’ He asked, and he entered, standing by the door in the stoic posture of the King’s Guard.

‘I thought you’d like to know Lady Olivia is returning from her meeting with Lucretia, Sir.’

‘Already? I thought she’d be longer. Do we know what entrance she’ll be using? I’d like to meet her straight away’ James pressed a finger to his earpiece, listening intently

‘Follow me sir’ he replied ‘I’ll take you there, her route is being monitored’

Liam was just in time to greet Olivia as she swept in the staff entrance at speed, but she wouldn’t stop. He ran to keep up with her as she made her way to her suite. She refused to speak until she got there, when she seized the nearest object – a heavy vase full of flowers. She picked it up and held it up to hurl it down on the ground, but Liam stopped her, catching hold of her hands and helping her to put it down safely. She pulled away from him abruptly

‘That old bitch’ she stormed ‘She knows’ She went to the desk and swept the papers off the desk. Liam followed her and caught at her wrists before she did any more damage.

‘Knows what, Livvy?’ he asked urgently ‘What does Lucretia know?’ Olivia’s eyes were full of fire and she glared at him for a moment before letting her arms go limp and dropping her head.

‘She knows I’m pregnant’ she said quietly ‘She worked it out, the witch’

‘Calm down Livvy. We can handle this’ Liam said soothingly ‘Take a deep breath’

‘How are we going to keep this quiet?’ She said ‘It’s too soon’

‘It’s okay, she’s under house arrest’ Liam reminded her ‘She has no means of contacting anyone outside the house, it will be fine’ He let her go, and she went over to lean on the desk.

‘We have to up our profile’ she said ‘I hate the idea of going to Cormery, but perhaps I should be seen with you’

‘I think we’re doing alright’ said Liam ‘I’ll make sure you’re mentioned in the press releases. I’ll get Sophia to work on a positive spin on your absence. You need to go home to recharge your batteries. If all goes well, we’ll have found a way to neutralise Anton’s claims, and then we can announce our intentions.’

‘And if he succeeds?’ Olivia said shortly

‘Then we go into exile. I’ll stay with you Livvy, whatever happens’

------

‘This has to be the dullest leg of the tour so far’ murmured Sophia to Riley ‘Standing around watching nobles hit a ball around a golf course isn’t my idea of fun’

‘Quiet please’ came the request from the referee. Yet another ball was hit, sailing off down the green, and the hushed crowd made appreciative noises. There was a low murmur as everyone moved off to the next vantage point, and the three of them trailed at the back of the crowd.

‘Tell me about it’ said Riley ‘Let’s go back to the clubhouse’ Drake snorted in reply ‘What?’ she said ‘At least they have a bar there’

‘You really think they’ll let riff raff like us in? he laughed drily ‘Dream on’ Riley sighed

‘Surely they’ll let us in, we’re official guests’

‘You can try’ grunted Drake ‘Even if they do, the prices are sky high’

‘In any case I think I’d rather drink from a hip flask in Bas’s SUV than traipse round after these blowhards’ she replied.

‘We can’t just cut out’ Sophia pointed out ‘If the press sees us…’

‘Excuse me, we’re not exactly newsworthy guests, all the attention is on the players, and the outfits all the noble ladies are wearing’ Drake pointed out.

‘I’ll ask Bas’ Sophia offered ‘He’ll have some sort of get out’ She tapped away on her phone.

This is dull as ditchwater. How can we bail out?

We?

Me, Riley, Drake

Grin and bear it

Will bribery work?

Don’t distract me

I’ll wear stockings for a week

Wicked woman

You love it

Leave it with me

‘What does Bas say?’ Riley hissed as they reached the hole

‘He’ll bail us out somehow’ At that moment, one of the guards tapped Sophia on the shoulder

‘Miss Turner, there’s an urgent message for you, come with me. You might want some company, I think it’s bad news’

‘Oh’ Sophia said, hand flying to her mouth ‘Riley had better come then’ She turned to Riley and grabbed at her hand. Drake looked alarmed

‘I’d better go with you’ he said ‘For support’ The three of them hurried away, a few of the audience casting a gaze over them as they went. Once they were out of sight of the crowd, the guard spoke.

‘Just for the record, Captain Lykel has asked me to escort you to the staff bar and has requested that you stay there until he contacts you at the end of the tournament. On no account are you to leave except for – and I quote – a life threatening emergency’

‘Anyone would think we were with Maxwell’ muttered Drake.

‘There’s a limited tab for you at the bar, and a buffet’ the guard told Sophia as they approached the clubhouse. ‘Two drinks each, and after that you pay for them yourself. Please be moderate with your quota’ He pressed his earpiece and nodded ‘The Captain says no expensive single malts or bottles of champagne. By the glass only’

Sophia crooked an eyebrow and glanced at Drake. He made a sour face as they reached the building, and the guard lead them to the unimposing bar reserved for staff at the club. A couple of chauffeurs and other aides sat at the tables set out, so Sophia chose somewhere to sit while Drake went to order. He had a whisky, and Sophia and Riley ordered white wine. The barman indicated a buffet table at the side of the room, and as soon as Drake had taken the drinks to the girls he took a plate and started to heap it up.

‘Steady on Drake, leave some for the Guard’ Riley scolded

‘Come on, this is proper food’ Drake complained ‘not the fiddly crab bruschetta and fishy crackers the nobles get’

‘Well I’m not really hungry’ Sophia declared ‘Knock yourself out’

‘Don’t worry Sir, we’ve actually got plenty to go round’ the barman assured him ‘We know the nobles just pick at the food, and the club manager usually adjusts the budget so that most of the allowance is for staff – there’s far more of them than there are nobles anyway. Just go easy on the sauce – a lot of staff don’t drink on duty, so that budget’s limited’ Drake nodded in appreciation

‘Thanks man’ He grinned, and reached into his back pocket, producing a hip flask ‘I always carry this on stuffy noble occasions anyway’

‘So what are your quarters like?’ Sophia asked. She and Bastien had been allocated the best of the staff quarters, and that wasn’t saying much. Lord Delacouer obviously thought luxuries like en suite facilities wasted on mere lackeys, and they had to share a bathroom with Lewis. Altogether, going to the Cormery Isles was like taking a step back a few decades in time. Riley made a face that told Sophia all she needed to know.

‘I think we picked the short straw’ she said ‘We asked for a double room and we got one – or rather, two beds pushed together and just enough room to walk round them. From what Drake tells me, our host doesn’t think much of commoners, so he really scraped the bottom of the barrel for us.’

‘I’m looking forward to moving on to Lythikos’ Sophia said ‘Of course I’ve been there before, but I think Olivia will be more accommodating than our last visit’

‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ said Drake darkly.

‘I’m just glad we won’t be seeing Lucretia’ Riley said with a shudder, obviously remembering the time Anton had kidnapped them and taken them to Lucretia’s stronghold.

‘I wonder what the old bitch is doing now’ Drake said ‘At least she’s somewhere she can’t do any harm’

-------

‘Good afternoon, your Grace’ Lucretia’s lawyer greeted the old woman as she entered her study. The Duchess sat at her desk, writing. She spoke without looking up.

‘I have some information that concerns both claimants to the crown, and I need your advice, Miss Bouvoir’ she said.

‘I’ll do what I can, your Grace’ the younger woman said smoothly, sitting even though she hadn’t been invited to. Lucretia looked up at last, her piercing gaze making her shift uncomfortably.

‘It have a strong conviction that my niece is pregnant’ she said ‘and as she has refused to meet her betrothed, I can only presume that the father of the child is none other than King Liam’

‘That’s an extremely controversial claim, your Grace’ the young lawyer said in shock. Lucretia sniffed.

‘It certainly is, and I’d like you to look into the implications should it be found to be true’

‘It depends whose claim is found to be true of course. If Anton’s claim is proved, Lady Olivia would be guilty of adultery and possible treason.’

‘Surely adultery is not relevant in today’s society’

‘Not where it involves a Royal heir, your Grace. If King Liam’s case is proved, it is possible that Lady Olivia’s child might be taken into Royal custody as heir to the Crown, but as she is a Nevrakis and has a claim to the throne should either Anton or Liam be incapacitated, it makes the whole matter even more complicated. The legalities of all three cases could be argued for years’

‘What would happen to the child if the King were to legitimately marry another woman, who would presumably be crowned Queen, and have another child?’

‘Again your Grace, the matter would be complicated, and more time would be spent arguing which child was the legitimate heir, but a child with both Nevrakis and Rys blood would have a very strong claim.’

‘Humour me please, Miss Bouvior. What if the child were found to be Lord Severus’s?’

‘I – still can’t say for certain. It would have to be decided in a court of Law’ Lucretia rolled her eyes upward and sighed heavily. She folded the paper she had been writing on and placed it in an envelope, writing a name on it with a flourish.

‘Thankyou Miss Bouvoir. I’d be obliged if you would hand this to my housekeeper in person’

‘You know I have to show any communications to the Guard to be vetted, your Grace.’

‘Of course, they’ll only find instructions on how she should continue to run my estate. I still have property that needs to be managed. It’s not sealed’

‘Very well your Grace, I’ll hand it over as soon as possible’

‘You may be gone a day or so to deliver it. I’d like you to return to me with her inevitable reply. Again, I’m sure the Guard will find nothing of concern. You may go’ Miss Bouvoir rose, reached over the desk to take the letter, and left the room to go and report to the guard at the door of the cottage.

------

‘So Lady Olivia declined the invitation to my event’ Neville Delacoeur sniffed haughtily ‘I’ve a mind to decline her invitation to Lythikos’ The golfing event over, all the guests milled around in the clubhouse lounge, picking at the lavish buffet and sipping champagne. He stood looking out over the greens, and Madeleine stood next to him.

‘I wouldn’t do that’ she said drily ‘I need all the help I can get exposing her as the King’s mistress’ Neville scowled

‘I presume if you expose her, you get closer to being Queen yourself’

‘And I’d be able to reward those who aid me’ she smiled

‘Lord Delacouer’ Madeleine turned smoothly at the King’s voice ‘Lady Madeleine’ he gave them both a little bow. Neville almost bent himself double with his own return bow, but Madeleine barely bobbed. ‘The greens are impressive, Neville – I hope you’ve managed to raise an acceptable amount for the Library in the capital’ The young Duke almost fell over himself bowing again to hear the King using his first name.

‘My secretary is calculating the figures right now, Your Majesty’

‘Please Neville, call me Liam. I well recall attending birthday parties in the Isles when we were younger, and I recollect that you visited the Palace on a few such occasions too. We’ve known each other a long time’

‘Indeed your – Liam’ he said obsequiously ‘I’m honoured that you remember’

‘I hope Lady Olivia is managing with the arrangements for the events in her home Duchy’ Madeleine cut in.

‘Yes, such a pity she couldn’t come’ Neville added ‘I had the suite next to yours prepared, just as you asked.’

‘Olivia likes things done properly’ Liam replied ‘I’m sure her staff are more than capable of taking care of things very well, but she feels personally responsible for everyone’s enjoyment of her events’

‘Admirable’ Madeleine said ‘As am I. It distressed me deeply that she demanded to move rooms at Karlingford’

‘I’m afraid that was rather my fault’ Liam replied ‘Something came up and I needed to be able to call on her at a moment’s notice. Her original suite was at the other end of the property’

‘Olivia’s a strong healthy woman’ Madeleine remarked ‘Surely she could have walked…’

‘Your Majesty!’ Neville’s father greeted Liam, leaning heavily on his cane. He was rarely seen at court and travelled even less frequently, relying on his son to take his place at official meetings. ‘I hope you enjoyed the greens. How unfortunate that Landon beat you by a whisker’ Liam turned to the older man.

‘Superb greens your grace’ he smiled ‘and the better man won – my golf skills were rather rusty’

‘You should come more often my boy, get some practice in. It’s a pleasure and an honour to have you here’

‘I fear matters of State may take up a lot more of my time now, your grace, but I’ll bear it in mind.’ He looked across the room ‘if you’ll excuse me, I must go and talk to Landon, eat a little humble pie’ He bowed to the group and turned away.

-------

Anton blinked himself awake in the enormous four poster bed. He had had strange dreams, one of which involved Olivia coming to visit him in the night, sitting on the edge of his bed. She refused to speak to him, and when he went to touch her, she melted away. He had been keeping up to date with the Charity tour, and knew that the Court had left Cormery and was making its way over the next day or so to Lythikos.

There was an envelope on the dressing table. It had not been there when he went to bed. He got out of bed, pulling on his dressing gown and going across to pick it up. The envelope was blank. He opened it, not noticing a faint cloud of dust that flew up into the air from the piece of paper inside. He opened it out, and discovered a single sentence written on the sheet.

Your wife is pregnant with the King’s child. Your attempt at the throne is futile.

His face changed as rage gripped him, but then he realised that his throat felt odd. It started as a tickle, and turned to a burning sensation. He looked at the piece of paper, only now noticing a slight line of white dust in the crease. He dropped it immediately and jumped away, screaming as an acrid smell drifted up to his nostrils. He ran to the door and wrenched it open, shouting out down the hall.

‘Help me – help! Poison! I’m being poisoned’ He clutched at his throat at the burning increased, and before the guard on duty could reach him, he had fallen to the floor, gasping for air.

------

‘How the hell did this happen?’ Bastien stormed. The King and the King’s Guard had returned to the Palace, now declared safe, and was stopping off in order to pack for Lythikos. Parker was accounting for the disaster at the safe house where Anton had been kept.

‘I don’t know, Sir’ Parker said, rigid with shame and dismay ‘We had the manor locked down tight. Everyone was vetted and observed.’

‘Let’s go over the facts again’ Bastien leaned back in his seat, steepling his fingers together. Lewis sat beside him, bleary from being roused from his sleep after a night shift.

‘Very well, Sir. At eight thirty today, Anton came out of his room in some distress shouting out that he’d been poisoned. He collapsed with severe swelling to his throat, and lost consciousness due to his airway being compromised. It was around five minutes before he received medical attention from one of our first aiders, who managed to establish an airway of sorts. The emergency services were called and they sent a helicopter within half an hour. He was airlifted to the hospital in the capital and remains on ventilation and is unconscious.’ He took a breath as Bastien looked at him intently

‘Go on, Parker’

‘On examining the room, a blank envelope was discovered on the floor along with a single sheet of paper. There was evidence of some powder inside which has been sent to our labs for examination.’ He paused ‘There’s something else, Sir’

‘Spit it out, man’

‘The paper had the crest of House Nevrakis printed at the top’

#silver service #sophia x bastien #drake x riley #liam x olivia #protect and serve #anton severus #lucretia nevrakis

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xxgoblin-dumplingxx · 5 years ago

Text

Sick Little Games: Four

B.C.

Bucky had overheard Thor. The big blonde asking what had happened when he noticed your red eyes and mussed makeup. You’d said it was nothing, but it was clear that he didn’t believe you. Stupid kid, Bucky, scoffed to himself.

He kept a wide berth of Thor, though, knowing you were going to have a very visceral reaction to being close to Bucky and knowing Thor wasn’t as dumb as people tended to think he was. He watched as Thor tucked you against his side and coaxed you into the car with him, out of the public eye. Thor, probably better than most of the others, understood how alien these press events felt for you. How alienating.

Supersoldiers, spies, billionaires, heroes... there were movies about them. They permeated popular culture so thoroughly that they seemed relatable. Witches though? Witches in this culture were scary. Alien. Often cultural shorthand for evil. Thor knew better. He knew that you, that your kind of witch was indicative of a pure heart. And he knew that these types of events made you feel exposed.

“My Lady,” Thor said gently, “Please. You are not alright.”

“I'm just stupid, Thor. It’s fine... I just. I’d like to go home and go to sleep, I think. It’s been a long week.” you tell him, carefully taking off the rest of your make up.

Thor frowned, “Are you sure you wouldn’t like me to speak to someone?”

“Thor, I told you. He isn’t interested... Really he hardly even knows I exist.”

Thor scowled, “He knows enough to know how to hurt you clearly.”

“He didn’t do it on purpose,” you sigh, “He’s not a monster; he’s just...”

Thor smiles a little, “He’s a man.”

You nod, “I can’t... no one could be that malicious, right?” Thor looks down at your face. Big eyes, reddened and tears pooling again even now as you try to tell him it’s okay.

“No one,” he reassured, brushing a soft kiss against your hair. But in his heart, he knew that wasn’t true. Some men. Some kinds of especially broken men take a heart that’s proffered to them and break it. Crush it in their hands the way he’d seen you crumple thick black earth when you’re tracking something.

Thor stays quiet after that. He leaves you to your thoughts and is careful not to press too hard. Back at the compound, he stays near you as you walk through the doors. And so he doesn’t miss when you flinch away from Bucky when you nearly brush against him. Thor watches you scurry towards an elevator to your room, keeping your head down, a pair of heels in your hand, and he frowns. “Hmm,” he rumbles. That filled in another piece for him.

“What’s up?” Steve asked, looking between you, still obviously upset and Thor. Thor frowned, “I am not sure. The lady has elected to keep her own counsel.”

“Is she pregnant?” Sam blurted out.

“That’s unlikely,” Thor snorted.

“Is it boy trouble, though?” Clint asked, falling into step with them all.

“I promised the lady that what she told me would be in confidence,” Thor said firmly.

“So, yes, but you can’t tell us that,” Clint snorted.

Thor’s eyes narrowed, and Clint held up his hand, “I’m not gonna ask her, I just wanted to know if I should be kneecapping someone.”

“Or making a move,” Steve said, rolling his eyes.

Clint flushed and rubbed the back of his neck, “That obvious, huh?”

“Boy,” Sam said, smacking the back of his head, “The only person that HASN’T figured it out is Y/N, and that’s because she’s mostly oblivious to anything that isn’t a rectangle with pages.”

The archer rubbed the back of his head and sighed, “Still, she’s not interested in me. At least not like that.”

“Not yet,” Steve said, shrugging, “I mean. It’s not like you really tried anything.”

“If she’s got boy trouble, it’s with someone else,” Clint reminded.

“You could turn her head... with a hair cut. And a personality transplant,” Sam said.

“Hey, fuck you, I’m charming!” he protested.

“About as charming as roadkill,” Bucky said walking by to the training room

“Fuck you too!”

“Not my type.”

Thor rolled his eyes, and Steve chuckled, “Boys, you’re both pretty.”

“Am I not pretty, Captain?” Thor asked, smirking. His booming laugh echoing off the marble foyer when Steve threw up his hands in exasperation.

___________

You sat at the vanity in your room and surveyed the makeup and brushes you had laid out. Then, you looked at your own face.

Shaggy hair that needed to be professionally cut instead of it just being you lopping the ends off with a pair of scissors when it got unbearably shaggy. Eyes, lips, nose, cheeks, forehead... all of it was nothing to write home about. Not like the girl Bucky had been whispering to on the balcony. Each whispered word, and lingering kiss had felt like a pin shoved into your heart with devastating accuracy. Hitting every insecurity.

The stupid thing was, you knew spells and cantrips and potions that could make you as beautiful as that woman. More beautiful even. You could make yourself so earth-shatteringly lovely that men would fight and die just to walk you across the street, but...it would only be an illusion. Like it was for that woman. A dream of a fierce fucking contour and some really beautifully applied eye make up. Anyone could learn to do that part. She’d learned, between Natasha and youtube. Something was soothing about the process of putting the various goop on your face to create the look you wanted to wear. And you were halfway through sculpting your own contour when Natasha burst through your door.

“Oh good, you’re getting ready,” she said, lounging on your bed.

“Where are we going?” you ask.

“Out,” she said, “Girls night out.”

You nod, accepting this, “Not a club, right?”

“No,” she scoffs, “Wine and canvas.”

“Gods bless Pepper,” you laugh, “Did she book the whole building again?”

“Tony insisted,” Nat said stretching.

“Tony?”

“We’re supposed to be interrogating you about your current boy problems.”

You’re heart stutters, and your hand pauses, halfway through putting eyeliner to your eyes, “Boy trouble?” you say out loud while internally cursing Thor.

“The boys are convinced you’ve got a crush or something...”

You roll your eyes, “As if I’d tell them before I told you.”

“That’s what I said,” she answered. If you were struggling with some unrequited love, you hid it reasonably well. Natasha hadn’t known about it and still couldn’t get a fix on who the object of your affection might be. Maybe you were getting over it on your own. It’s not like you didn’t have a support network to lean on. Perhaps Thor had been more helpful than he had thought.

_____________

A. C.

You aren’t sure how long you’ve had this specific house. But that’s all it is. A house. It’s lightly furnished. A few dishes, enough furniture to make it comfortable. It’s better than it was. For a couple years, you only had lawn chairs and a mattress on the floor. A few books and some plastic dishes.

It was a place to go to. You had to drive for almost an hour to get anywhere with a movie theater, and there were woods for miles. It was fine. You felt almost safe. Almost okay. There was no one to come towards you with menace in his face. There was no one to prey on the anxieties in your mind.

At least. At least until a beat-up blue pick up rolled down your driveway. You took mental stock of where your staff was in the house and marshaled a little energy to bear, firming up shields and willing yourself not to look surprised... Until you recognize the man that gets out of the car.

“Clint?” you say, tilting your head, releasing the energy you’re holding, “What are you doing here?”

He lopes towards you with a sheepish smile and stops at the steps, “I- I came to find you.”

“Why?” you ask, “Did something happen?”

“I missed you,” he said, cheeks coloring, “Movie night is no fun without someone that understands how to riff on shit.”

“I don’t have a T.V.,” you tell him, rubbing the back of your neck.

“We don’t- I mean. We can just talk.”

“You drove all the way out here to talk?” you ask, taking a hesitant step down to him.

“I mean- I- We don’t have to talk... I could just take you for ice cream. And tell you you're pretty.” He gives you a little crooked smile and holds out his hand.

“I- I dunno if that’s a good idea, Clint.”

“Since when does that matter?” he teases gently, “I don’t wanna stick my tongue down your throat. I just miss my friend.”

“It’s a 30-minute drive to a dairy queen,” you tell him, taking the hand he’s holding out.

“So... 30-minute concert with yours truly as the featured Artist,” he laughed, “Good thing I put new batteries in my hearing aids.”

You giggle and for the first time since he found out you’d left, Clint feels like himself. And it feels good as he helps you up into the passenger seat.

Tags: @lancsnerd, @thorfanficwriter @blameitonthecauseway @etherealwaifgoddess, @stevieang, @beautybyfire, @sunmoonandbucky @mrsfox79, @bbmommy0902, @mendes-fan, @iheartsebastianstan, @wtfcas @pinknerdpanda, @process-pending, @ladifreakingda, @leasly, @coldbookworm, @hv-chw3, @past-perfect-future-tense, @starkrobb @beardburnsupersoldiers

#Bucky Barnes #Bucky x reader #natasha romanoff #Clint Barton #Clint Barton x reader #fluff #angst

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kierongillen · 5 years ago

Text

Writer Notes: The Wicked + the Divine 44

Spoilers, obv.

I'm aware that this is either going to be a relatively short one or an epic one. The risk of the latter is that rather than just talking about the issue, for the first time I'm free to talk about the series as a whole, and so talk about some of those other choices. There'll be some of that, but it would warp the nature of the notes, and give some false perspective. I can talk about it being over now, sure, but talking about it all means I'm not talking about this element. Not least because I can't talk about it all – there's still the question of issue 45.

But still. There's a lot to talk about, and a lot of hard things in here to do. We knew where we going, but the devil is in the details. The devil's everywhere.

Jamie/Matt's Cover

Minerva finally gets her head-shot. I was a little worried that people would realise exactly what was happening to Minerva here, but I didn't see anyone realise she's falling, and speculate why. Of course, I knew what it was and couldn't not see it. That's how it works.

It's a striking last image though – this is an especially blank glance, in the middle of all the motion. Matt's pink/white nimbus is really powerful too.

Emma Rios/Miquel Muerto

Emma's one of our favourite artists, and we were so glad that we managed to get her before the end. Emma's always someone who gets this evocative drama of it all – this is obviously a momentous cover, but you don't know the moment until reading. Laura and Lucifer being a core relationship, and the hint of leaving. Miquel does strong, atmospheric things with the colours as well. It's a great cover to end the story on. On - Pretty Deadly is back on the same day as 45, and I can't wait. Gets!

IFC

In terms of minor things we did which have a big emotional effect, changing the gods' names to their human names was certainly one. It sits there and stings.

Page 1

This issue is particularly tightly wound, so we set the clock on the issue in this one page.

I had a couple of people wonder where the cops came from. I presume it's because the delay in publication – the "we have to go now because of woden's tape has revealed we're almost all complicit" is the only reason why they went for Minerva immediately.

For a page that's so tightly wound, Jamie does some great establishing here. Opening panel with the fire in top of Valhalla, to link to last issue. A shot with all these people in it – a character beat, and three extremely dialogue low panels.

Page 2

Riff on Better The Devil You Know.

The weird rhythm in WicDiv is the arcs-which-take-place-in-a-very-short-time and arcs-which-take-place-over-months. Faust act, Rising Action, Imperial Phase II, "Okay" are the over-a-short time. Fandemonium, Commercial Suicide, Imperial Phase I and Mothering Invention are the extended ones. The closest to one which does both is Faust Act, which spreads its action over a week or two.

Page 3

Lovely stuff in here with Jamie, in terms of character work – obviously this is Lucifer hamming it up, but seeing individual responses around the room is a hell of a thing. Minerva's a total mess here.

Valentine giving up clever insults at this point is probably a thing.

Page 4-5 "Bothersome" is a very Lucifer word. The expression in panel 2 is also key Lucifer – that eye-roll of it.

Laura's captions also arrive mid way through – key, as they're clearly going to be key. I was thinking of having them at the start of page 3 as well, but we can let us live in the moment.

Laura's performance tentacles is a lovely panel – seeing how Matt works the colours on the space. The blues fading to white, the reds. Honestly, this is making me miss working with Matt already, and seeing how good he and Jamie are together.

Callbacks here to Lucifer in the first arc – the cycle of it all.

"There were two girls in hell" makes me well up. |It's one of my favourite Jamie expressions in the issue.

Page 6-7

When planning the larger structure of WicDiv, I was aware that I made certain calls in hope I would be able to save people. The early "death" of the Heads was actually a way to protect them. I was aware that characters who were in play were far more likely to die, as they had more chances to do so. I knew I could likely save the heads, so by making them heads, I made it more likely.

I originally planned for Dionysus to die, but I couldn't bear it. His hubris was real, but the idea that someone could give so much without anyone really caring or doing something for him was too heart breaking, even for me. I realised during Rising Action that I could actually save him – the pieces were already in play, and I just had to lean into those relationships to lead to Baph's choices. At the start, I wasn't sure where Baphomet ended in year 4 – part of me thought he'd survive, as I didn't have that final beat for him at the start. That I didn't have a hard end for Baphomet always made him open to the story finding another purpose for him – which is an end which I can't imagine any other way now. WicDiv is an awful necessary machine.

That applied to Lucifer too. She was a darling, obviously, but she was always going to be trouble. Part of me was aware that she could come back and almost immediately get killed again. I'd like her to make it out, but it was possible she wouldn't.

So, as I said last time, when I realised she was the final opposition I was pleased – that was perfect to the themes and the structure.

I wrote in my synopsis that Laura uses a performance to touch Lucifer and convince her into renouncing her godhood, and left it at that.

There it sat until I came to script it.

Because, in all honesty, I had no idea how Laura was going to convince Lucifer to give up her godhood. I just trusted that there would be some way Laura could reach her. Or, really, I hoped there was – because I knew if I wrote something that didn't feel convincing to me, I wouldn't do the scene. Lucifer would have died instead.

So, the day came when I was scripting this sequence, and I started writing, and wondered what the performance would be, and I just wrote "Laura descends the Ananke head sequence and drags Luci back."

Then I leaned back, a little shocked, because that was clearly right, and so clearly fit with what the series does – a final deconstruction of one of our core visual icons, giving a new way to look at the sequence and think about it. It was just there. As if it was there all along. Or just the sort of thought that emerges when you've been obsessed over this fucking thing for five years.

I'm aware of the weird resonance as well – Laura's finding a performance to save a friend is me finding a performance to save a character. WicDiv was a weird book.

Jamie and Matt go to town, of course – the melting faces are just painful, and wonderfully done. The fleshy reds, the fires. How Clayton uses the captions across the page to play with pacing...

I originally suggested we do it completely as the WicDiv spread, with Laura crawling across the centre spread and making her way up – that it would be treating what is meant to be two columns as a space was decided to be too much, so instead we went with flipping to a subjective perspective on a space that we've only experienced from a single objective outside viewpoint. That's got magic too.

Page 8

A long time to get to this kiss, right?

We moved the dialogue around a little to nail some moments – we had the magic effect on the final panel so the transition to the next page wasn't too much.

The annoyance of Eleanor in the last panel is just my everything. I described it to Jamie by using a metaphor of me in my early thirties, having split up with an Ex, and torn between various places, including seriously wondering whether, after everything, the simple answer to my sexuality stuff was that I was just gay. How annoyed I would have been, after all those years, if it was that. Just a "Oh, FFS. I'm just gay! Why didn't I get that earlier? Why have I wasted all this time? What a fucking fool I am."

That.

Page 9

Repeat of core WicDivian imagery, turned to a different purpose. After these magificent godly reveals, we do this very normal world.

Yeah. This would have been a happy place to end the series.

Page 10

Laura wants to be better, of course. It's easy to say you want to do better.

A+ Cassandra-ing in the background there.

Page 11

Now, Minerva is dead in a few pages time, and she is a genuine monster, trapped in a system of her own making. But I didn't want to send her into the void thinking she had that horror awaiting her. I can't forgive her, but I can give her a little peace.

Title drop, of course, with a wonderful expression by Jamie. There's a lot here.

Okay, let's do this.

"Okay" is a phrase that's haunted WicDiv. We've come back to it multiple times – it's a fascinating word in the English language, and has caused problems for people translating it, in the mixture of ambivalence and optimism in it is really tricky. Clearly, we use everything inside the word.

It wasn't my Dad's last words, but it's the last exchange I remember with him. Everyone else was out, and I was helping him back to his seat. He says to me.

"Son, I know this is strange, but I can't help but think it's going to be okay."

And I can almost imagine my eyes bulging out of my head, as I wanted to howl at him: no, Dad. It really fucking isn't.

This comes up almost verbatim in the first arc, with the exchange between Laura and Lucifer before she breaks out. The series is about many things, but my Father's death was the core inspiration for it, and that "It's going to be okay" haunted me and it.

I don't think this is what my Dad meant, clearly, but it's how I've ended up metabolising it. I've been signing "It's going to be okay" when I sign Faust Acts, partially as it's the WicDiv phrase, partially as a secret-promise-that-they-won't-all-die-and-there-is-hope and partially because "When death comes, it's okay" is that buried in it. If I had to boil the book down to a sentence, it'd be it. It means different things depending how you look at it. That's all I've got.

Page 12

I talk about Solving The Equation of the third year, and Dio being in play for this section is absolutely part of it.

That first panel. I said that the cast were all people I'd have killed to be at various stages of my life. Umar is someone I try to be now. I don't succeed, but he's a worthy goal. Kind is not soft and all that.

While the silent panel is something you've all seen before, it's worth highlighting how good Jamie is. The favourite gesture of the scene is the eyes upwards of Cassandra – I don’t remember Jamie using this angle before, and it's really striking. I suddenly miss that I won't be working with Jamie again for a while. Have fun, Jamie. You were the best.

And now, this.

Page 13-14-15

"It would take a real monster to kill a kid" is one of those lines that have been sitting in the files since the beginning.

There was a fan artist in the WicDiv community early on who kept on doing these totally charming portraits of Baal and Minerva playing around in a big brother and little sister way. Every time I saw them, I felt both love for the art, and a sadness. "In four years time, you are going to have a terrible day."

That's one of the weirdest things of the last four years – that. Knowing that stuff is out there.

Looking at this at a little distance, I see the elements in – the standing on the edge, the "Please Don't" and all that. I sigh. This is awful and upsetting and that page turn is one of the hardest in the series. I wish Valentine would forgive himself, but he couldn't.

This is the sort of thing I want to write a lot about, and want to write nothing. I think I'll keep it as just the facts, in terms of trying to plot this.

Occasionally you get to a knot – I knew Valentine had to kill Minerva, that Valentine couldn't bear to live after that was done and that Minerva had to die after Baal gave up his powers. How to you put those three together, without introducing something else.

C asked "Where does it happen? Could it happen somewhere high?" and the rest was there. Falling being the repeating WicDiv image as well.

I think I pictures this actually side on, without the drop. Jamie's choice is better, just because of the eyes.

The three panels is something we're returned too, but choosing the distance was key. You know it's there, but I didn't want to revel in the dead bodies. This is a different kind of death to many of the ones in the book, and has to be treated as such. Any more blood than shows they're dead would be obscene.

I sigh again. I note that Matt does the lights on the guns perfectly, but I want to highlight craft. The shot of eveyrone waiting is a huge thing – Inanna's grief, Dio stepping in, and the crossed arms of Cassandra...

I think it was when I was plotting the second year at WicDiv that I realised that I couldn't see a way out of this which didn't involve the majority of the cast ending up in jail for a while. I was okay with that, as it made some sense. It's thematically resonant for a few ways – it's a choice which shows their acceptance of their acts, and their actual humanity as well as an understanding of their power, and lots more.

However, due to all the straight, white characters being dead, it does mean that a all-queer all-PoC-minus-Lucifer cast going to jail, in the current jail system. That said, while far from perfect, the UK is not the US. I don't think I could have written this ending in the US. Even in the UK, I safety-proof it conceptually as much as I can.

They are all queer, and almost all PoC... but they are also superhumans (and mostly rich.) They have a degree of power, and options which are not open to other people... and it is their one chance to try and navigate this space with no-one else (either them or other humans) getting killed. It's their last chance to act in good faith to the rest of the species.

I wouldn't trust the system if they were people without their resources. They're not. And this is the least-worst choice I can see.

I'm sure some of you will disagree with me on that.

More safety-proofing – Voluntuaryism is an anarchist idea. "The only true order is voluntary order" basically.

18-19-20

This is a lot of space for a sequence which is relatively minor dramatic weight, but as we segue towards the end, we want it to breathe a little. Plus there's the matter of the page turns – the previous interstitial was about pushing that as well, so both the "surrender" and Laura's final headshot are on a turn.

Matt's lighting in this sequence is wonderful – I said to Jamie that I was thinking of almost suggesting we're changing genre before Laura steps in. It's a "The special forces go after Batman" sort of sequence. I was thinking of the one from Batman: Year Zero, which is some top class special forces entering darkened environments.

Another moment of the weird-colouring-in-a-balloon, and the actually living in the moment.

Taking the guns is more safety-proofing, showing they are not acting in blind faith of the system. That Laura can take the guns also shows that Laura likely could walk out of prison any time she wants, and the rest will be able to do the same too.

(Not that the people in power know they don't presently have access to their big ones, of course.)

We originally has Cass shouting that final line, but had it much more matter of fact. This is kind of past shouting.

21-22

Yeah, this is calling back all manner of stuff. Back to the courtroom.

Jamie asked me a lot about the final expression, as is only right. This is a story where we've used head shots a lot, normally with pose. This is something else.

Worth noting that Laura couldn't be sentenced to life imprisonment. She's 18 so would be sentenced for "custody for life". Not that the story actually says what she's been sentenced to that either – we cut before the sentence is given. Don’t expect a firm answer to that in next issue either.

But they all have been sentenced to life, in the obvious metaphorical way. Laura has been depressed and self-destructive to the point of a death wish throughout. At the end, she's decided to try to live.

I count that as bitter sweet, and I count that as a win. I'm proud of her. I'm proud of them all.

I'm in tears now.

24-28

And we were when compiling the letters page. Thanks you lot.

Jamie and I both had really intense feelings about the final cover. It's clear why we've kept it secret (it gives away Laura survives) but to see this young woman we've been writing about older was incredibly moving.

Laura was 20 years younger than me at the start of WicDiv, and she's 20 years older than me at the end. Feeling suspended between the two poles, identically. The duality of it, one more time.

I love this cover so much, and I loved these characters, this book, you lot.

Thanks for reading.

#WicDiv #the wicked and the divine #Writer notes

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fmdjoosungarchive · 4 years ago

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location: daisung’s apartment

date: sept-oct 2020

word count: 1844

tldr; verification for sung’s song forever rain. full everything. sung doesnt know what h2o is. contemplates the overlap of emotions and rain. almost gives himself a cold. brings the album together with this final song, the last one he writes for the album

head resting atop the couch, recorder in hand, sung felt his eyes becoming heavy. sharp breath sucked into his nose as his eyes lifted once again, and he looked across the long pane of the glass, to all of the falling beads of water, racing down and down to the floor.

he’d missed this.

after so many months having written for this singular album, after having solidified a style that wasn’t common to his usual style of writing songs, after probably hundreds of hours by then of reworking his knowledge of mixing to fit this specific album, it was nice to come back to something familiar.

he needed this.

sung’s style could be eclectic, depending on who was asked, but to himself, he felt entirely predictable. natural was his whole energy. live, in person instruments sounded better to sung than anything digital, and so too did any kind of sound effects. over his couple of years of seriously writing music, sung had been known to use a wide range of household appliances to record his music with. craft pipe cleaners, a coffee can, even a plunger once, though that didn’t end up working --and it was new, don’t worry.

in the past, he’d also recorded rain to use in a song, but sung wasn’t one for being an outfit repeater, in the form of musical repetition. the previous rain was completely different from the rain that was pouring down that day. this one, his new object of affection, sounded heavy, almost insistent, as if it was asking to come in with all of its might. in an abstract form, sung would have liked to let the rain in, and sit with him a while.

he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned back, to quirk a quick lip up at his boyfriend, before laying back down. sung couldn’t decipher his mood that day. he’d had one schedule, that was postponed, which left him at home, and looking at the rain. a strange feeling he wasn’t sure how to name had come over him throughout the day. usually, sung was pretty good at figuring out what he was feeling, so that he knew how best to deal with it. this wasn’t sadness, but it felt similar.

when he hadn’t been drifting in and out of sleep, his mind wandered, thinking over the path he’d taken to create what he had of his album. sung was so proud of everything he’d written up to that point, even songs that he or the company had vetoed from consideration. it wasn’t complete, though. not yet.

without having known it, that might have been why he’d sat on the sofa for the last hour and a half recording the rain. -had it really been that long? the soft orange glow on his recorder and ever moving seconds said as much.

gosh.

sung yawned, then stopped the recorder. socked feet padded around to daisuke, and after telling him where he was going, the studio door clunked closed behind him.

if he had to give a name to the feeling he was having, it would be that he felt like the rain. they’d come to be so well acquainted in that time that they’d melded into one. the rain understood whatever was inside of him, and decided to share it, and vice versa. maybe if he focused hard enough, he could learn the molecular composition of rain.

jokes aside, sung did like rain, when he was comfortable inside with nowhere to go. if it had been a year or two ago, he’d have used the whole day to rest with a book or two, sat on that same sofa alongside the rain all day as a reading companion. these days, there was much too much on sung’s mind to rest like that, despite all of the unread novels in the multitude of bookshelves he’d insisted his and daisuke’s apartment have.

on the other hand, the connection he’d felt to the rain was purely based around feeling, emotion, which wasn’t possible otherwise. and sung wanted to write a song dedicated to the rain. true to form, black and white met flesh, a breath filled sung’s lungs, and when he let go, keys pressed down in their first chord. there was no true rhythm to anything he played. sometimes, a feeling, or an idea, could take him to the eventual tempo of a song. this could be that, vaguely, if the tempo is ‘slow song’. although, the idea of creating what would be a ballad for a rapper was tempting. many of the songs sung had written, and put into his final consideration pile, were slower. he didn’t want to get caught up in stereotypes and expectations of needing to be the fastest rapper on the planet. sung was happy to just make good music.

he was happy, with what he’d written so far. they followed a theme, and circled around, rather than aimlessly, like an endless cycle, coming back around to one another with purpose and sense. sung wanted to solidify that cycle.

thoughts pinged around further out. sung could take his time to rap, and make a slow composition, but he could also connect this song with the themes he’d been writing in the rest of the album.

sung paused his playing and grabbed a notebook. at the top, he wrote, ‘rain,’ and below that, started listing off everything this reminded him of rain. it could be romantic, searching through the storm for your lover during a difficult time to tell them you’re sorry and want to be theirs. rain could be joyful, bringing child-like spirits to dance and play amongst it. rain could be gloomy, highlighting the negatives of a day with darkened, obstructed skies, and wet, squishy clothes. but, rain could also be comforting. not only when there was the barrier of touch removed, only to enjoy it from a distance with warm, cozy comfort, but in experiencing it.

sung paused. his chair moved so fast it squeaked. his shoes were half righted on his feet. before long, his clothes were drenched. underneath the falling water, sung raised his head to the sky, eyes closed, and let the droplets hit his face as they pleased. the type of pressure on his skin reminded him distinctly of showers, then, crying in the shower. many people he knew had cried in the shower before, himself included, because it was impossible to separate tears and shower water. right then, sung felt like if he cried, no one would know.

there, was that comfort.

he wasn’t alone, when he’d stepped out onto the street. people had been passing by here and there, but sung hadn’t registered them, and they didn’t care to stop to know what he was doing. sung tested the theory, looking out, but most of what he saw were umbrellas, rather than faces. they could be anyone, doing anything. when he looked down, he saw a wobbly, vague version of himself.

chills hit, unsurprising for a man who hadn’t thought to grab a coat before storming outside in the rain, and so, sung took himself back upstairs, drenched, but sure.

sung could barely contain himself long enough to change his clothes before running back into the studio room. rather than going back to lyrics, he hopped back onto his piano with a new feeling inside, and started recording immediately. that took all of, ten minutes, but going back through it was harder. while this method meant that sung could let his emotions take over, and come up with something as authentic as possible, it also meant that mixing would take forever. even after choosing what he liked best, he’d have to go back to expand upon those ideas until they sounded right, and piece it all together digitally to get an idea of what he wanted.

it was worth it, though, to spend those extra few hours on it, because when it came to what he’d chosen as the final product, there was no doubt. the last thing he did with the composition that day was to figure out a little bit of a beat, with a small drum he had in the studio. compared to what he’d written before, it was nice to put more effort into live sounds, even more than he might usually.

after that, sung officially called it quits for the night... not like that stopped him much. he kept going back to the studio to jot down ideas and lyrics to where he started carrying the notebook around the house with him as he finished off his night. and, he finished late. not only because of his radio show, which might have been the only to blame under other circumstances, but because the creative thoughts flowing through him took forever to quell.

by the time sung woke up, that forever had translated into the concept of a forever rain. like the rest of the album, he’d taken the gloomy, comfort route. in tying the album together, it also expressed emotion, as is, point blank. really, the song was about the desire to let out emotions. sung struggled with the concept enough himself. being vulnerable in front of others could be terrifying, and sometimes, it was nice to have a non-living creature like the rain to share it with. while the end goal, the deep seated desire, may be to share with other humans, having rain was a non-judgmental partner to be listened to. after all, the rain understood pain; it was simply the result of clouds crying out from too much being bottled up.

feeling emotions as they came was important. sitting in one’s feelings was perfectly right. and sometimes, the overwhelming essence of letting emotions out can make you want to run away, but other times, you might want to stay. shrouded in, covered up by the innocence of rain, it can feel like the place to be is in that rain.

this album was sung opening up his emotions, to the rain of the listeners. the thought was terrifying, when bringing it to real people. it was necessary, good for him, though, because no matter how tempting it can feel to be in the safety net of a forever rain, rain would never last forever.

that day, the rain had stopped before he went to bed. the clouds had moved on, and so did too the strange feeling he couldn’t quite place. through the process of working on the song further, adding a guitar riff, matching ambient sounds to the rest of his ‘chapter’ songs, mixing and remixing and remixing again his own voice, sung had come back to that rain. whether the water fell from the sky, it fell from his eyes. in the shower, and on that sofa, wishing the rain would come to make him feel less alone. and yet, every time his own personal rain fell, it ended.

a forever rain was a concept, one that he would leave the audience to interpret, just like this album.

#fmdverification #the tldr probably isnt v helpful here #it's quite a complex concept that goes back and forth with well i feel this way well reality is this way #hard to describe succinctly #this is my fave verif so far im p sure #self para #era: happiness

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jthiskey · 4 years ago

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J.T. Hiskey And Lil B Raise Significant Money For BLM

jt hiskey

Q: Please introduce yourself to the readers and how you first got into this field of work –and who were some of your influences growing up?

j.t. hiskey

I’m Louie. I’ve always been into music. I was influenced by Twisted Sister, Guns n Roses, then Metallica, Black Sabbath, and Nirvana, then punk bands like The Ramones, Nofx, and The Riverdales, then got into Ritchie Blackmore and Peter Green.

jthiskey

I’m Jose. My parents introduced me to different musical styles from their vast LP record collection and from the radio when I was growing up. From The Beatles to Styx to Lionel Richie and Cindy Laupner. Then as I got older I gravitated to Sound Garden, Pearl Jam, Veruca Salt, Blink 182, Fuel, Oasis, Sum 41, Creed.

Q: What kind of training have you had, if any?

Louie: I took a guitar class in high school, one in college, and had 1 month of singing lessons.

Jose: I had music lessons with the Accordion, the Guitar but didn’t keep up with them. Q: What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

Jose: Equine abduction…

Louie: The Manhattan Project. just kidding. Q: What sports do you enjoy watching?

Louie: hockey, hockey, and hockey.

Jose: Basketball Q: What is it that you are hoping to accomplish?

Jose: We want to share our music with the world in the hope that they enjoy it. We hope that it might touch someone in a profound way or encourage them to keep on going despite the challenges they may face.

Louie: I’m hoping to accomplish having music being my life and having people hearing my/our music. Q: What has been one of the biggest highlights/achievements of your career so far?

Louie: Being played on the radio. Jose: And we really loved having someone doing a cover of one of our songs. To see it for yourself someone really digging your song was just amazing to see. Q: If you had a chance to work alongside anybody who would that be?

Louie: Anybody famous, haha

Jose: Really anybody who is serious about doing something special, would be an honor Q: What is your creative process like?

Jose: There’s usually something that affects my emotional state or story I want to express. I’ll write it down or text it to myself. As I work on the lyrics or a chorus or group of words that sounds great, I’ll then bounce it across Louie. He has the mind to really pick things apart and find better words that make the song lyrically singable and playable on the guitar. I don’t know chords so I have to reproduce the sound that I have in my head and Louie can pick up very quickly the chord I’m looking for. There have been many times where he will hit a chord by mistake and I’m like Wait, Play that Again! That’s perfect! Sometimes, we work on songs for as little as half an hour or hour and other times up to a month of constant back and forth. We record it on our phones and listen to it, work on it more to really perfect it and practice it for Recording at Sonic Palace Studios.

Louie: My creative process varies. Sometimes I’ll have a vocal melody in my head or a topic I want to write about, and I’ll make music to fit that. Or sometimes I’ll have a guitar riff or melody and work around that. Other times I’ll hear a song or riff, and it’ll “inspire” me (read: ripoff, haha) Q: Are there any funny stories during practice or recording?

Louie: A funny story was you writing what you thought the lyrics for mothers’ smiles were, compared to what they actually were.

Jose: Yeah I remember that I thought I heard the words right but was way off. I also remember there I was struggling to get “The last party of the Summer” down pat and Louie was like, ‘hey you’re getting caught between the lines’. And I looked dead set at him when he suggested to change it up to make it easier for me, and I said, “I don’t wanna change the song just because I can’t sing it.” We cracked up and I listen to that blooper and it cracks me up every time. Q: How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?

Jose: The internet has made things easier for indie artists to show their artistic side, whether it’s in music or any other form. You can have an idea, record it digitally and share it with the world almost instantly. I feel the music industry has controlled things to their own detriment and the detriment of artists. Now anyone can make music and be heard around the world, get paid for their music without labels hogging it all.

Louie: I think the internet killed the radio star. That whole file-sharing royalties issue exposed a lot of artists as greedy, “in-it-for-the-money”, and, as image is very important to popular music, it was very damaging to the “rock n roll image”. On the other hand, the internet is fantastic for artists who just want their music to be heard. Q: What would you change in the industry if you could?

Jose: The major problems that artists face when trying to share their music is funding, time, and the resources to really have an impact in reaching listeners. Being independent means it’s all on you to do everything to make your music, get gigs, sell your songs, collaborate with other artists etc. There has got to be a better way for the industry which really won’t change due to their greed. If you removed that element, you would see more artists featured that have great music to share to the world that you wouldn’t otherwise hear in today’s music paradigm. It would be great if artists that were really successful, support other artists with a fund that they could use to make their music. I would support that.

The major hurdle for indie artists are just getting people to listen to your stuff. Radio is still king and even with all of the online platforms it’s hard to get people to listen to your stuff. There is just so many other bands out there with great music that I’m still discovering until this day. The industry pushes those out for whom and only whom THEY want to elevate, really those that can make them the most money.

Louie: If I could change the music industry, I’d slow it down. Not tempo-wise, but the music industry runs its artists into the ground. The constant touring, and deadlines, stuff like “you need to have this album released by this date” kinda suppresses creativity. Let them have a break. Give them time to write good songs. Q: What is the best advice you’ve been given?

That you can do things yourself. It takes hard work, time and energy but it’s worth it in the end to be able to create things and mold things to how you want them, just not how others would bend it into towards their vision. Don’t waste time or mental energy on those who are flakey or really don’t fully support what you are trying to do. Q: What’s next for you?

Louie and I will continue to record and release singles, collaborate with other artists to record songs and release more singles and maybe a few more albums. It would be easier to concentrate on our music if we could put our jobs and bills on pause. But Life keeps rolling along and we are trying to hold on during its ride. Despite it all we will keep on Rockin!

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donteattheappleshook · 5 years ago

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Of Cars and Bars Chapter 9/14

As always, thank you Krystal @kmomof4 for all of your amazing beta work and for just being a lovely person. Twice now you’ve talked me out of giving up on this one! This story exists because of and is dedicated to you!

This chapter is a little smutty ;). A ‘lime’ as we called it back in my day.

Summary:

Rated E

When Emma Swan is offered the chance to go on tour as an opener for one of the most popular up and coming bands of the decade, the last thing she expects is to find that the lead guitarist is the stranger she had a one night stand with five years ago.

This started out as a smutty two shot about Emma Ruby and Mary Margaret going on a road trip and has evolved into a slow-burn mutual pining angst-fest.

Read it from the beginning on Ao3 and Ffn because tumblr eats all my italics.

Chapter 9 - The Wrong Direction

When I was a kid the things I did were hidden under the grid / Young and naive I never believed that love could be so well hid / With regret I'm willing to bet and say the older you get / It gets harder to forgive and harder to forget

“I know how to write a song, Killian,” Emma practically snapped, sighing in exasperation.

“You asked for my help,” he reminded her, sounding equally annoyed. “I don’t know what you were expecting.”

“Well, you’re not showing me anything I don’t already know.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “Well, what do you want me to do?”

Emma was frustrated. They had been bickering for twenty minutes now, since they’d sat down on the bed in her hotel room, guitars in hand, finally trying to write together again. It had been two weeks since Killian had helped her with her song, had helped her finish it, making her realise how much she missed writing real music. And this was the first quiet moment they had been able to find to finally try again. It was not going well.

Between shows every night and press in the mornings and afternoons, their days were full. When they weren’t performing on stage or in front of a camera they were on the bus with everyone else. Eight of them, jammed into a tour bus that, while spacious, was very claustrophobic and offered them no privacy.

Emma didn’t want people around for this. She trusted Ruby and Mary Margaret and she’d come to really like Belle and the boys, but having them there, listening - or pretending not to listen - while she tried to relearn how to pour her soul onto a page terrified her. It was enough that Killian was there to see it. That was terrifying on its own. Emma wasn’t good at being vulnerable. But Killian had seen her at her most exposed and hadn’t judged or pitied her. That terrified her even more. Writing with him before had been so easy and so natural, and she feared that she wouldn’t be able to do it on her own. Not yet, anyway.

But there had been no time. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. There had been some time. Usually, at night after their shows they were free to return to their hotel rooms and relax. They’d tried once or twice to write then but they always ended up getting… distracted. It wasn’t her fault. It was Killian’s. He was just so damn good at distracting her. He was just so damn good at kissing her. He was good at everything honestly - but she couldn’t tell him that, it would go straight to his head.

He would find her by the vending machine in the hotel, or backstage after the show, or even that one time in the restaurant bathroom. Any moment they found themselves alone for a second she’d find herself pressed against a wall or a door with his hands roaming everywhere and his tongue doing unspeakable things to hers. And then he’d leave her with her knees weak, and her heart racing, and so damn frustrated. And she’d be left waiting until the others had gone to bed to seek him out. So yeah, most nights had ended in one of them doing their best to sneak out of the other’s room before anyone woke up.

But now, now they had two blissful days off. No shows, no driving, no interviews or appearances. They were in Austin for an entire weekend all to themselves. And, that evening, Emma had finally managed to find a moment to sit down with him and try and create something. Instead, they’d been arguing. She knew he was trying to help but all he was doing was giving her advice on things she already knew, structure, chords, melody, fucking rhyme schemes. She knew how to write a song. She needed him to help her find the truths that were hiding scared inside of her, to lure them out like he’d done last time.

She sighed, dejected. “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “Maybe this was a bad idea.”

Killian didn’t answer for a minute. A frown pulled down his brow and his lips tightened into a thin line as he thought. “A few weeks ago, when I told you that writing music was like finding a way to have someone else help you carry your burdens… you said it used to be the same for you.”

“It was,” she admitted but her voice sounded distant and sad even to her own ears.

“So then try that.” He looked at her in that way again, that way that made her feel like he was looking inside of her, into a part of her that she was sure she had kept well hidden from the world. But he could see it. And sometimes, when she looked at him, really looked at him, she thought she saw the same bit inside of him. “Let me help you carry your burdens,” he said, not as an order or an assumption that she should, but as a request.

Emma had to steel herself. She could do this. She needed to do this. She’d asked him to help and that meant that she’d agreed to letting him see this part, this private part of her. But that didn’t make it any less scary. She nodded and he placed his fingers on the frets of his guitar. He played a couple of chords, improvising a melody. She told him when she liked something and when she didn’t, playing her own instrument and adding bits until they had a little verse they liked. He asked her what she wanted to write about and she said her childhood.

It shocked her, surprising her even as the words came out of her mouth. She’d avoided talking about her life before Granny and her sisters, avoided thinking about it. He only nodded and waited for her to start. But nothing came. She sat, frustrated and trying to put into words the pain and the naivety and the stolen innocence but she couldn’t. It had been buried too deep for too long. She let out a frustrated groan, her head falling into her hands. The music stopped.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“I don’t know!” she whined. “I just - I can’t remember how to do it. I used to just sit down, you know, with my guitar and my thoughts and then it would just kind of, spill out. I didn’t used to have to think about it. Thinking about it is making it just feel - wrong.”

“Then stop thinking about it,” he encouraged. “Just say whatever pops into your head.” God, he was annoyingly persistent.

She glared at him, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t think you want to hear what’s in my head at the moment.”

He laughed. “Perhaps not. I could give you prompts, like word associations?”

Emma sighed. It wasn’t working. It wasn’t going to work. She just didn’t have that spark or whatever it was she’d had last time. Last time she’d felt like the words just wanted to come out and so they had. This time they were shy, hiding timidly somewhere she couldn’t find them. She set down her guitar.

“Let’s just try another time,” she said, closing up her case.

Killian considered her for a long time, long enough that she started to feel a little uncomfortable. He really needed to stop staring at her like he was trying to read her thoughts - she was already half convinced he could.

“We’re trying too hard,” he said finally, moving to put his own guitar away. “That’s the problem. You know, watched pot and all that.” Emma was going to answer but she didn’t get the chance as he picked up his case and grabbed her hand. “Come with me,” he instructed.

“What? Where are we going?” she demanded, barely managing to grab her instrument as she was dragged out of the room. Killian didn’t answer. Instead, he made his way down the hall, stopping at David's room and pounding twice. “Liam and Belle’s room. Five minutes! Bring your kit!” he called through the door. Then he moved on and repeated the same action at Graham’s door, then Ruby’s and then Mary Margaret’s. Finally they reached Liam and Belle’s room and Killian pounded on their door too.

“Killian,” she said and he looked at her for the first time since they’d left his hotel room. “What are we doing?” she demanded.

He shot her a smile. “Just trust me, Swan.”

“Bloody hell, Killian,” Liam complained when he opened the door. “We’re going to get complaints.” Killian ignored him, pushing his way into the suite and dragging an unwitting Emma behind him.

“Get your stuff,” he told his brother. “We’re having a riff-off.”

Emma watched as Liam’s face changed from scorn to amusement, and finally to excitement. She didn’t think she’d ever seen Liam excited. It was weird.

“What is a riff-off?” Emma asked, knowing she probably wouldn’t get an answer. Killian seemed to be in a cryptic mood today. She was proven right when all the answer he gave her was a mysterious ‘you’ll see’.

As their friends started to trickle into the room, carrying their instruments and looking equal amounts annoyed and confused - and a little rumpled in the case of Graham and Ruby - Liam returned with his guitar, Belle following behind him looking extremely pleased. Emma was surprised to see that she was carrying a ukulele. She had no idea Belle played.

Killian evaded all their questions, corralling them all into the middle of the room. David and Mary Margaret didn’t have their entire drum sets obviously but Mary Margaret had brought her sticks and a smaller drum from the set. David had brought goddamn bongos.

“You mind telling us what we’re doing here?” Graham insisted, sounding very put-out. Probably at being interrupted, Emma mused trying to hide her smile.

“Seriously,” Emma demanded now. “What the hell is a riff-off?”

Her question set off a world of excitement and confusion as the boys suddenly perked up ‘we’re having a riff-off?’ and the girls tried to get a straight answer as to what the hell it was.

“Who’s got writer’s block?” David teased. Before Emma could answer, her cheeks flushing pink, Killian spoke.

“I do. Now are you going to help me out or are you going to be an ass about it?”

David put his hands up in surrender.

“Will someone please explain what the hell is going on?” Ruby demanded.

“It’s a game we play,” David started. “When one of us is having trouble writing. Or just for fun sometimes,” he smiled. Emma hesitated. She realised then what Killian was doing. He was still trying to get her to write. She didn’t think she liked this. This was songwriting with an audience. She shot him a look and he returned it with another one of those unspoken ‘trust me’s’.

“How does it work?” Mary Margaret asked. Killian answered this time.

“Well, for starters we all have to sit in a circle, so let’s go.” As everyone started shuffling around, moving some furniture to make room and finding a spot on the floor, Emma noticed that there seemed to be some strategy at play that she didn’t understand. David for example, made a point to sit on Graham’s right, something the latter seemed displeased with. Liam did the same to Killian. Emma spotted some room between Mary Margaret and Belle and was going to squeeze in when Killian caught her wrist.

“Come on, Swan. You’re next to me for this round,” he told her. She hesitated for a second but he only gave her a bright smile and an encouraging nod. She sighed and sat next to him. When they were all settled, Killian explained the rules. “Right. This game is part challenge, part make it up as you go.” He received blank looks from all three newbies.

“The rules are pretty straight forward,” Belle piped up. “One person starts by playing something on their instrument. It has to be original. They give the person on their left a topic. That person has to make up lyrics based on that topic and sing along to the melody that is given to them. If you falter, hesitate, or plagiarize, you lose and you’re out of the circle. We play to the last man - or woman - standing.”

“A whole song?” Mary Margaret asked, sounding nervous.

“No, only a little verse or something,” David assured her, putting a comforting hand on her knee. She flushed.

“But it has to end intentionally, not because you’ve run out of ideas,” Liam explained.

“Graham managed a haiku once,” Killian pointed out. Graham gave a showy little bow - as best he could sitting cross-legged on the carpet.

“Right,” Killian said, reaching back and picking up Emma’s guitar. He handed it to her. “Why don’t you start us off, Swan?” She gave him a little glare. At least he wasn’t making her sing. David was to her left. “Give him a topic, play a little tune for him once and then he has to start.”

Emma took a deep breath. She could do this. There were no words involved in this - yet. Melodies were easier. She looked at David who waited, seeming wary of what topic she might give him. She liked David though, she figured she’d cut him some slack. She looked around at the rest of his bandmates and smiled, remembering all the times they’d mocked the only ‘yank’ in their group.

“Brits,” she said. David beamed. She’d hardly finished improvising her riff when he started sharing his opinions on some very specific British habits. Killian, Liam, Belle, and Graham all shot him glares at different points. Emma wasn’t sure, but she thought she might have just learned that Killian had a very unhealthy obsession with The Great British Bake Off. The girls were practically in tears by the time he was done and they burst into applause for him. Alright, Emma thought, this game was pretty fun.

David was next and had Graham to his left. Graham shot daggers at him before he even named his topic. “Cats,” was all he said. That was how Emma learned that Graham had a paralysing fear of all felines, apparently since he’d been taken to see the musical as a small boy. Emma realised now why some of them had chosen their positions strategically. If you had to sing on the spot, you were forced to sing about the first thing that popped into your head, embarrassing as it may be. You didn’t have time to dismiss an idea and come up with a new one. It must have been impossible for Graham to think of anything besides his fear and so he was forced to confess. David had clearly taken advantage of that.

“I’ll get you back you bastard,” Graham warned. Ruby was red in the face from trying to contain her laughter. He picked up his bass. Belle was beside him. He smirked. “Your first kiss.” Belle groaned and was forced to sing about the fact that her first kiss had, in fact, been Graham himself. The game went on like that. All of them taking turns to poke fun at each other. Ruby, thanks to Mary Margaret, begrudgingly admitted to believing she was a werewolf for an entire month when she was twelve. Liam made Killian tell them all about how he got the scar on his face - by trying to shave, just like his big brother. That one made Emma smile.

When it came to her turn, Emma expected Killian to make her sing about something real. But he didn’t. He didn’t the second time around either, or the third. Instead he gave her light topics, things that were fun and easy to sing about. She was honestly impressed with herself when she managed to rise to the challenge of ‘pirates’ which he threw at her out of left field. Slowly, one after the other, their friends were eliminated. Graham, as he stumbled near the end of what was turning out to be a fairly endearing love song prompted by the word ‘red’, Belle, as she blanked on anything having to do with Star Wars, Liam when he flipped Ruby off for saying ‘love letters’.

They all booed but then cheered as David was the next eliminated, trying and failing to manage a rap to the topic of ‘prom night’. Emma played for Mary Margaret who stumbled on ‘talking birds’, turning bright red and refusing to admit to the year she was convinced she had super powers. But Ruby succeeded through Emma’s challenge to sing about Leonardo DiCaprio, her first love.

It was Ruby’s turn to play for Killian now. She looked at Killian with a challenge in her eye. “Secrets,” she said and he stumbled for a second but managed to recover by the time it was his turn to sing. It was the weakest of his verses yet but he didn’t falter. Nobody else seemed to have noticed the exchange and Emma felt her heart flutter in her chest, wondering if Ruby knew - about them.

Ruby gave him a congratulatory nod. It was her turn now, she could feel the adrenaline in her veins, the excited kind of anxiousness as she awaited her topic, a smile already on her face.

“Kids,” Killian said and she didn’t even have a chance to be surprised before he started playing a tune she recognized, the one they’d composed earlier. He hadn’t asked her specifically about her childhood, hadn’t insisted she sing about being a kid herself, but that was all that came to mind, the way she had felt free then, like nothing she did had consequences, but only for a little while. She’d learned young that the world could bite and that if you didn’t bite back, protect yourself, it would eat you alive. And so that’s what she sang about. The words came out of her, poured out of her as quickly as she could think of them, there was no time for questioning or self-doubt, only to sing.

The song went on longer than any of the others had. But nobody complained. Killian didn’t stop playing. He didn’t falter, only looking at her encouragingly, a small smile creeping over his face as she went on, laying everything out, speaking her truth, no matter how gritty. She stared at him as she finished. He’d done it again. Somehow he’d managed to find a way to find what was inside of her, what was hiding in the darkness, and bring it to the light. He’d found a way to make her feel comfortable enough to do it. She was a little bit in awe.

“Holy shit,” Liam whispered and that broke the silence that had engulfed the room.

“Emma, that was fucking awesome!” Ruby cheered. “Please tell me someone got that down!”

Belle held up her phone. “I always record these. It’s where all the best stuff comes out.”

“No kidding!” David agreed.

Emma and Killian were still staring at one another. Emma couldn’t help herself. The way he was looking at her, the soft smile on his face, he looked proud of her and it was unsettling how much she liked it. She was proud of herself. He’d helped her get there. He’d known what she needed and he’d given it to her. Not for the first time, it scared her how well he seemed to know her. What scared her more was that she was starting to want him to know her. And, she realised, she wanted to know him too.

She cleared her throat, unable to hold his gaze any longer. “Game’s not over,” she reminded them. She turned to Ruby, only the three of them were left.

Emma was eliminated next, faltering over ‘wine Wednesdays’ and turning red remembering the time Ruby had to get a bouncer she knew to throw Emma over his shoulder so they could get her in the cab. It was down to Ruby and Killian now. Ruby just barely managed to make it through a verse about ‘Irishmen’, pointedly not looking at Graham the whole time. But there was an amused sort of fire in her eyes that warned that Killian did not want to go toe to toe with her. She looked him in the eye and smirked.

“Blondes.”

Ruby won. Killain stuttered, eyes casting far too conspicuously to Emma and then even more conspicuously at anywhere else. It would seem in his desperation to keep their secret, he blanked on anything else to sing about. He admitted defeat gracefully and Ruby less-gracefully threw her hands in the air, letting out a ‘whoop’. She was surrounded by congradulations.

“What’s my prize?” she asked.

Killian considered it. “How about you get to choose what we do tonight with our first night off?”

They agreed this was fair and Ruby immediately looked to Mary Margaret who brightened up. Emma knew where they were going before she said it.

“Get your stuff!” she ordered before heading straight for the door. “Meet us downstairs in five!”

Everyone seemed to be okay with just following along with whatever Ruby wanted, even Liam let Belle drag him out of the living area and into the bedroom without question. Killian hung back, waiting for her, looking confused.

“Where are we going?”

Emma smirked a little. “We’re going to the fair.”

“The fair?” he looked even more confused and a little nervous.

“Mhm. I saw the signs advertising it when we first got here. I knew she’d make us go - her or Mary Margaret. They love fairs - amusement parks too. Anything with rides really. Every summer we try find a new one to go to.” She paused, taking in his expression. “Why do you look so freaked out?”

He looked like he’d really put up a good fight against the blush on his face. She couldn’t tell if he looked more red with embarrassment or white with nerves. He rubbed at the back of his neck before letting his head fall back and confessing. “I hate rides.”

She felt the smile tugging at the corner of her lips, remembering his reaction to flying. She stepped forward, grabbing the front of his shirt and giving him a little tug until he looked at her. “Come on, you big baby. There are games too, you know. Let’s go and I’ll win you a teddy bear.”

Killian tried to hide his amusement, determined to only appear annoyed at her teasing but the little upward twitch of his lips gave him away. Finally he lost the battle, offering her a mirthful smile, brows raised. “Promise?”

She nodded. “I’m amazing at carnival games,” she bragged.

“I don’t doubt it,” he said, suddenly seeming to realise how close she was standing and taking advantage. He slipped his arm around her waist, drew her a little further into him. “Will you win me a big one?”

She raised a brow. “A big one?”

“Aye. I want one of those giant bears that are bigger than me.” His free hand came up to toy with the ends of her hair and Emma let her arms slide up around his shoulders. “I want all the other boys at the fair to be jealous.”

She laughed. She noticed she’d been doing that a lot more lately. “Alright then, a giant bear it is.”

He grinned, his arm tightening around her middle as his head bowed, his next words spoken somewhere near her jaw. “How on earth will I possibly thank you?” he asked. She could feel the roughness of his cheek against her own and his breath on her neck and her stomach gave a little flip. She smiled, practically giggling as his lips pressed against her throat.

They heard the bedroom door open and jumped apart, doing their absolute best to look casual. They were standing way too close. She knew they were because as Liam and Belle stepped out, they hesitated, giving them slightly questioning looks.

“What are you still doing here?” Liam asked. Emma floundered for a second as Killian stood there completely useless.

“Ruby's making us go to the fair. I'm trying to convince your brother to go on the pendulum ride with me,” she lied.

Liam barked out a laugh. “Fat chance,” he told her. “I couldn’t even get him to try bumper cars until he was sixteen.”

“Oy, let’s not make up lies now,” Killian protested, looking annoyed and just embarrassed enough that Emma was pretty sure it wasn’t a lie at all. She smirked.

As the brothers bickered, Emma turned to Belle, hoping to share in the amusement of watching two grown men acting like children. But Belle was already looking at her, her expression far too knowing and definitely far too pleased. Her gaze flickered to Killian. Emma shifted uncomfortably then cleared her throat, announcing that she would meet them downstairs. That had been way too close.

They decided to walk there since the weather was nice. It wasn’t far, only a few miles and David, apparently annoyingly healthy, active David, had insisted they needed the exercise after so many days sitting on a bus. Emma had thought about protesting but Mary Margaret and Ruby had looped their arms through hers and practically carried her down the street with them.

“I’m so glad we’re still gonna get to do this this summer,” Mary Margaret exclaimed happily.

“Me too,” Ruby agreed. “I thought the tour would mess with our tradition.”

“What tradition is that?” Emma smirked. “You whooping my ass at the balloon pop and Snow eating so much cotton candy that she pukes?”

“Don’t call me that! And I didn’t puke.” She stuck out her tongue at Emma.

“Yes, exactly that tradition,” Ruby smiled a little nostalgically.

She got it. Ruby wasn’t the sentimental type but the summer that Granny found Emma and Mary Margaret had been a rocky one to say the least. Both of them were teenage girls who didn’t trust easy. They’d moped most of the season until finally, Granny had forced them out of their rooms and out to the small town county fair. Despite their best efforts, the girls hadn’t been able to have a bad time - largely due to Ruby. She was hard not to like. Granny had introduced them to everyone as her kids with no further explanation. It was the first time the three of them had felt like a family and so, sentimental or not, Ruby liked tradition.

“Do you think they’ll have a tea cup ride?” Mary Margaret asked excitedly.

“They shouldn’t be allowed to call themselves a fair if they don’t,” Ruby answered.

“As long as there’s a ferris wheel, I’m happy,” Emma said.

“You are the most boring person ever,” Ruby teased.

“What? I like ferris wheels!” Emma insisted. Ruby rolled her eyes. She looked over at Killian and Belle who were walking a few paces ahead. She smirked.

“Maybe you’ll find someone to go on it with you,” she hinted suggestively.

“What do you mean?” Emma asked, heart racing. Shit. Did she know? She couldn’t know. They’d been careful. Maybe not careful enough.

“Nothing. Just, you know, ferris wheels can be awfully romantic.” She winked before looking pointedly at the pair ahead of them again. Emma’s mouth dropped open as she searched for something to say. “Might be nice to have something pretty to look at while you’re on it.”

“Ruby,” she said seriously, a hint of a smile on her lips. “Belle is married.”

Ruby threw her head back laughing. She dropped it after that.

They reached the fair and her friends practically raced off to the ticket booth, coming back with armfulls of tickets.

Liam looked at them skeptically. “How long are we planning to stay here?”

“Please,” Mary Margaret said. “These will last us an hour if we’re lucky.”

Liam looked helplessly at Emma. She shrugged. “They take their fair visits very seriously. Blame your brother.”

“Oy!” Killian called from somewhere behind her. She smirked.

“What first?” David asked, looking nearly as excited as Mary Margaret to be here. Or maybe he was just excited to be here with her. It was kind of cute actually.

“Games?” Emma suggested. She definitely didn’t suggest it so that Killian wouldn’t feel left out. She wasn’t that considerate. She caught him smiling softly and she looked away.

“Yes!” Ruby agreed. She grabbed Graham’s hand. “Come on!”

The others followed. But Emma caught hold of Killian’s arm. He held back.

“What is it?”

“We need to be more careful. I think Ruby suspects something and your brother almost caught us back at the hotel.”

He cocked his head. “Is that so bad,” he asked. Of course it was bad, she wanted to say, but he continued. “It’s just sex right? What does it matter if they know. We’re both adults.”

Emma tried to ignore the way his words affected her. It’s just sex. They were her words, he was merely saying them back to her. Then why did it feel like he’d dumped a bucket of cold water on her? She could feel something prickling under her skin and she didn’t like it. She shook out her hands a little, trying to clear it.

“Swan?” he asked, looking concerned now.

“No, you’re right. It’s just… I know my friends. They’ll make a big deal out of it and I don’t want to deal with that right now.” It was the truth, but it felt heavy and wrong on her tongue. It’s just sex, she repeated to herself. What the hell is wrong with you?

“Understood,” he nodded. “I’ll be more careful.”

“Thank you.”

They headed off after their group, realising that hanging back alone was a little too conspicuous. They had nearly caught up when Killian grabbed her, pulling her behind a booth.

“What are you -”

He took hold of her face with both hands and pressed his lips to hers. She was shocked for a moment - how the hell was this in keeping with their ‘be more discreet’ agreement? - but then his mouth opened over hers and she reacted instinctively, grabbing hold of his hips and finding his tongue with her own. He only kissed her for a second, pulling back and leaving her standing there with her mouth open, gaping like an idiot. He was grinning from ear to ear, looking way too smug for her liking.

“Killian!” Her voice was higher and a little rougher than she’d intended. “What the hell was -”

“Shh,” he hushed, bringing a finger to his lips. “It’s a secret. We don’t want the others to hear.” He winked and then backed away, heading back after the group. “Don’t follow right away. We wouldn’t want them to get suspicious.” She stared at him in disbelief - at how boyish and giddy he looked.

“Oh fucking hell,” she groaned. “I just gave you a challenge didn’t I?” He walked away, shooting her a goofy smile, eyebrows waggling. She definitely didn’t feel as annoyed as she wanted to.

They played a few games, the ring toss and balloon pop (Ruby did, in fact, whoop Emma’s ass again), and skeeball. The entire time Killian made a point to continue this secrecy challenge. Twice she felt his hand on her ass while they were playing a game or chatting with the others, only to look up and find him looking very invested in what someone was saying, the picture of innocence. She’d created a monster.

Killian was surprisingly good at all of the games and it was really starting to get on Emma’s nerves. Particularly because she was playing so poorly - which was entirely due to her opponent's wandering hands. She missed the balloon completely when she felt his fingers brush at the skin of her hip bone. She hadn’t beat him at a single one yet. The dirty cheater. He was getting really cocky about it too.

Belle and Liam had gone off to see what kind of show was going on at the stage and David had taken Mary Margaret away to feed her when Emma spotted it: a shooting game. It was one of those dinky little things where you were given a pellet gun and had to knock down as many moving targets as possible. Emma smirked. Time to knock the cocky grin right off of Killian’s face.

“Okay show-off, think you can hold your own at this one?” She was trying to provoke him.

He eyed it. “Absolutely,” he answered confidently. “Prepare to have your ass handed to you, Swan.”

She caught Ruby’s eye and the two exchanged grins. “Really?” Emma asked. “Care to put a little wager on that?”

He smirked. “What did you have in mind?”

Emma gave the man in the booth her tickets. “If you win, I will admit, on stage at the next show, that you’re far superior at all games than I am.” He looked happy with that offer. “If I win, you have to go on whatever ride I pick.”

He didn’t even think about it. “Deal. You do remember I was in the navy, don’t you?” he said, the arrogance heavy in his voice. He was handed his pellet gun and took his turn. He hit seven out of the ten targets. He looked very pleased with himself. “I very much look forward to our next show.”

Emma only smiled as she was handed her own pellet gun. “You’ve been out of the navy for what, ten years?” She could feel Ruby smiling behind her, could hear Graham asking her what was up, wanting to be let in on the joke. Killian nodded. She shot him a cunning grin. “I never told you what I do for a living, did I?” And with that, Emma whirled on the targets and shot down all ten of them in as many rapid shots.

She didn’t bother to hide her smugness as she turned back to her friends, resting the fake rifle on her hip. Killian was staring at the targets with wide eyes, his mouth slack-jawed. He looked at her with wonder and amazement and maybe a tiny bit of fear. Graham was laughing so hard he was doubled over, clutching at his stomach.

“What the bloody hell do you do for a living?” Emma only smiled as she was handed the giant teddy bear, the one that was bigger than Killian.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” She handed him the bear. He was still standing there dumbfounded. Graham was still laughing.

Graham was more than happy to recall the entire story to the rest of their friends when they met up for hotdogs and fries a little later, making a point to include Killian’s paralyzing fear of carnival rides. Liam teased the hell out of his brother, accusing him of forgetting everything he’d taught him but backing down when Killian challenged him to the game. Emma didn’t participate much in the conversation. She was too distracted by the feeling of Killian’s fingers on her inner thigh under the table, which had been boldy creeping higher and higher since they sat down. They were nearly at the seam of her jeans when someone called her name. It sounded like it wasn’t the first time they’d said it.

“Sorry, what?” His hand squeezed her thigh.

“I was just asking what ride you were going to take Killian on,” Belle said eagerly.

“I don’t know,” Emma mused. “Maybe something easy like the teacups,” she said, but then his hand creeped up higher, making it difficult for her to keep her breath steady. She glared at him. “Or maybe he wants to try the Gravitron.” His hand dropped back to her knee.

“Yes! You should definitely take him on the Gravitron!” Mary Margaret exclaimed. “That’s the best ride in the park!”

“I love that one!” David agreed, already hyped up. There was a consensus around the table.

“I think it’s time we went on some rides,” Ruby decreed. “Come on, let’s pop Killian’s zero-gravity cherry.” Killian’s hand tightened on her knee then, and she was pretty sure this time it was out of fear rather than an attempt to drive her insane. She looked at him, he looked nervous. He’d been an ass but she took pity on him.

“Nah, you guys go ahead. I think I’ll start him off on something a little tamer. I don’t want him puking on me,” she said. This time the squeeze was a thank you. The others headed off towards the braver rides and Emma and Killian set off to find something easier, Killian towing his giant pink bear along with them.

“You know, you’re not making this whole secret thing easy,” she pointed out.

He turned wide, innocent eyes on her. “What do you mean? I’ve been the picture of discreet. Nobody suspects a thing.” He leaned down then, his breath hot on her ear as they walked. “Besides, it’s been quite fun watching you get flustered all night.”

The asshole, she thought. She knew he’d been doing it on purpose but to hear him admit it made her feel annoyed and angry and… wanting. She wanted him. A lot. Right now. But mostly, it made her want revenge. They’d wandered near the edge of the booths which backed up into a small wooded area and Emma saw her chance. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him back, away from the lights of the carnival and into the cluster of trees where the neon glow was barely a suggestion. He stumbled back, questioning sounds leaving his lips until his back collided with a tree trunk and she pressed herself against him.

“Swan, what -”

She cut him off, slanting her lips over his and grabbing hold of the loops in the back of his jeans, pulling his hips into her own. His startled groan turned into a dirty growl as his arms came up around her back, trapping her within them and tilting her head back so he could explore her mouth deeper. Emma nearly allowed herself to get lost in it. He was such a goddamn good kisser and the way his hips were grinding into her own, his hand sliding down to her ass, grabbing hold of it to pull her almost harshly against him sent heat shooting through every fiber of her body. Ugh - she wanted him. But she wanted to make him to pay more.

The feel of his growing erection pressed against her stomach reminded her of her goal and she moved her lips to his neck, nipping and licking at his jaw as she wormed her hand down between them. She heard the gasp that caught in his throat as she palmed him through his jeans. His head fell back against the bark and his hands dropped to her sides, giving her room to continue. He let out desperate noises as she stroked him a few times, waiting until she could feel how painfully hard he must be before stepping back.

The look of pure shock and dismay on his face as he watched her back away, back towards the carnival made the ache in her stomach and between her legs worth it. Gotcha. She smirked.

“Swan, what…” He couldn’t even string a sentence together and it made her feel way, way too smug. It was nice to know, she thought, that she apparently had the same effect on him as he had on her.

“Don't play with fire unless you’re willing to get your fingers burnt,” she taunted, practically giddy with female pride and at getting him back for all his teasing.

She turned around and headed for the bright lights as though nothing had happened. She didn’t get far, hadn’t left the cover of the trees before his arm snaked around her belly, pulling her back against him. She could still feel his hardness pressed against her back. His hand slid up to her breast, fingers finding her nipple through the fabric of her shirt and she forgot she was annoyed with him for a second, her head falling back against his shoulder. An embarrassing sound left her.

“That’s bad form, Emma,” he told her, his voice raspy against her ear. “Leaving a man like that.” His hips pushed up against her back and she forced herself to remember exactly how intentionally riled up he’d gotten her for his own amusement.

“Worse form than spending the whole night getting a girl - what did you call it, flustered? - with no follow through?”

He hummed in her ear. “You’re right, Swan, that was very wrong of me.” His teeth scraped at her ear, pulling the lobe into his mouth. His thumb didn’t stop its assault on her breast. “Allow me to make it up to you.” His other hand started inching its way towards the waistband of her jeans and Emma was pretty sure she was about to let him fuck her right here in the woods when the were interrupted by a giggle and some branches snapping. Someone spoke. They froze, desire turning to adrenaline as she prayed that nobody would see them. It was a second before Emma recognized the voice.

“Shh, someone will hear us,” Mary Margaret said. It sounded like she was dragging an equally giddy David into the woods with her to do… well, exactly what she and Killian had been trying to do. Killian released her then. Apparently, knowing that their friends were getting it on a few yards away had the same effect on him as it had on her. She turned to him and he had a funny grin on his face when she met his eyes. It was a little awkward between them for a moment but then they heard what sounded a lot like a moan and they burst out laughing, both doing their best to muffle their laughter and not give themselves away. Killian tilted his head towards the fair and Emma nodded, the two heading back towards the crowds as silently as possible. Killian didn’t forget his bear.

“So, what have you chosen as my punishment?” he asked as they reached the rides. He looked a little nervous but also resigned to his fate. She decided to be kind. He had, after all, helped her find her way back to writing today.

“Think you can handle the ferris wheel?” she asked, with a raised brow.

He looked relieved. “Aye. That I can do.”

They reached the attraction and handed over their tickets. Killian nearly got into an argument with the teenager operating the ride about whether or not he could take his bear with them.

“It sits three!” he insisted. He won eventually, settling in the seat with Emma to his left and the giant pink monstrosity to his right.

“Are you really going to carry that thing with you all night?”

“Of course I am. I told you, Swan, I want to be the envy of every man here.”

Emma rolled her eyes and the bench gave a little lurch as the ride started. Emma loved the ferris wheel. She loved being so high up, getting to see so much of the town around her all at once. For someone who had never gone much further west, north, or south than New York, it felt like she had the whole world at her fingertips. The ride stopped, leaving them stuck near the very top. She loved it when it did that. It was her favorite part. She looked out at the horizon, a happy smile on her face.

“What are you thinking?” Killian asked, his voice soft beside her. She didn’t want to tell him. He’d seen so much of the world and she felt small and boring for having been so confined to one place - so stuck. She knew he wouldn’t judge her, but she still wanted him to… she didn’t know. Find her interesting? She didn’t know how to handle that feeling. She’d never wanted anything from any man. Never cared what they thought of her. But she cared what Killian thought.

She gave him a wry smile, deciding on a white lie. “I was thinking that I can’t believe David and Mary Margaret are banging in the woods right now.”

He laughed. “I can’t say I’m surprised. Those two have been all over each other.”

“I am!” she countered. “You don’t know Mary Margaret like I do. Sex in the woods is not her style. Casual sex in general isn’t really her style.” She smiled a little thinking of her glacial moving friend who insisted on love before sex. “That’s more the kind of thing I’d have expected from Ruby and Graham.”

Killian’s eyes widened. “What?”

“Ruby and Graham,” she repeated. “They’re like ‘together’ I think. You must have noticed.”

He seemed genuinely surprised. “I didn’t know it was serious! I thought that was just her personality.” She quirked an eyebrow. “The flirting I mean. She flirted with me!” Emma bit back her smile. Every man in the world thought Ruby flirted with them.

“Sure she did,” she teased.

“She did!” he insisted. “Poor Graham,” he said then, shaking his head. “She’s gonna eat him alive.” Emma nearly laughed, remembering having that exact thought.

“I dunno,” she said honestly. “I think she really likes him. I haven’t seen her like this since…” she paused, a frown crossing her brow as she tried to remember Ruby being this infatuated, this happy. “Actually I don’t think I’ve ever seen her like this.”

“She might be good for him,” he said thoughtfully. “The last woman he was with nearly ripped out his heart. Ruby seems kind, protective.”

Killian smiled and Emma took a minute to just think about her friends, time to enjoy the contentedness and the peace it brought her to see them so happy. It was then that Emma realised something. She was happy. It came as a surprise. She hadn’t been particularly unhappy before. She’d been comfortable with her life, satisfied for the most part and resigned to the fact that this was all she was going to get. But there had been something missing. Music had been missing, adventure had been missing, fun had been missing.

She realised then that the person who had brought all of those things back into her life was sitting next to her now, holding a stupid, monsterous bear. It hit her like a blow to the chest, but rather than knock her back, rather than scare her, she felt it spread through her limbs, into her fingers and warm her from the inside as she turned to look at him. He was staring out at the city below them with a slight sort of amazement in his eyes and she wondered for a moment, not for the first time, if maybe he understood her more than she thought. She put her hand over his where it rested on the safety bar. He looked up at her.

“I never said thank you. For helping me today.”

He gave her a half smile. “Think nothing of it,” he said. He leaned in a bit, his next words coming out with plain honesty. “I like helping you, Emma. I like writing with you, spending time with you.” He paused then and something crossed his face, something soft and a little vulnerable. “I like y-” she cut him off, pressing her lips to his. Please don’t say it. She couldn’t hear it. If he said it… if he said it then this would be over. Their rules were clear and if he - she didn’t want it to be over.

For a moment she thought he would protest but then he brought his hand to her cheek and kissed her back, letting her silence him. Thank you, she wanted to say again. The ride started once more, giving a slight jerk and Killian pulled back quickly. She was a little disappointed until he smiled deviously at her.

“Well now every man here is definitely jealous of me.” He pulled the bear from where it was sitting beside him and propped it in his lap, it’s stupidly massive size effectively hiding their faces from any onlookers. “Can’t be too careful,” he reminded her before pressing his lips to hers again.

She smiled. Idiot.

#of cars and bars #cs fanfiction #captain swan fanfiction #cs smut #cs fanfic #cs angst #captain swan au #cs au

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